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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137502">Roses of Yesterday</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AManwithaB0x/pseuds/AManwithaB0x'>AManwithaB0x</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Some Humor, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:22:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>27,406</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AManwithaB0x/pseuds/AManwithaB0x</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer Rose vanished 12 years ago, leaving behind a broken team and a shattered family. One year after the Fall of Beacon, something begins to stir... and a light thought to be extinguished begins to flicker once more. (tags will update as I write the thing)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Summer Rose/Taiyang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue: Status Quo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>…</p>
<p>"<em>I feel as if I had opened a book and found roses of yesterday, sweet and fragrant, between its leaves."<br/>― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<hr/>
<p><strong>Prologue:<br/></strong> <strong>Status Quo</strong></p>
<hr/>
<p>Wars have always marked the beginning and end of every Age.</p>
<p>No one knows exactly how far back human history began, nor does anyone know the full and <em>exact</em> timeline that exists in the present day. All we have is bits and pieces of written documents, a few fascinating relics that can give us partial dates, and the word of mouth traditions and oral histories passed down through generations of people. With all of these taken into consideration, a somewhat accurate timeline of our world might look something like this:</p>
<p>The first Age began over a thousand years ago, but the true number is hotly debated. All anyone knows for sure is that some sort of cataclysmic disaster occurred that nearly wiped out the human race on Remnant – though many historians do not believe our world was even called that at the time. If anything, the disaster was so incredibly bad, so utterly terrible, that our world was simply called Remnant from that point forward. After all, whatever it was that happened had only left a small 'remnant' of civilization behind, erasing untold numbers of lives, cultures and histories that had come before. Even the very existence of those lost cultures is debated, as the disaster itself erased them so completely that almost nothing remains for us to find today.</p>
<p>As the first Age went on, myths and legends give account of humanity's struggle to survive against both nature and the Creatures of Grimm – for the Grimm have <em>always</em> existed, even before the disaster – and it was during this time period that mankind discovered the miraculous mineral that would come to be known as Dust. It also marked the discovery of a power that would, over a number of centuries, become known as Aura. Both of these discoveries were quickly adapted for use in battle, giving rise to the class of warriors that would later gain the title of Huntsmen.</p>
<p>A scant few records indicate that Faunus existed in the first Age, though they had already been enslaved by humans due to fear and ignorance. Little is known about the physiology of the ancient Faunus, their own culture, or their treatment during these early days. All that is widely accepted was that Faunus have been slaves for <em>far</em> longer than they have been free.</p>
<p>Roughly 400 years after the unknown disaster that nearly destroyed Remnant, the first true Kingdom was established on the largest continent in the world at that time – the Ancient Kingdom of Sanus. The unnamed King and Queen of this land were considered by many as living gods and by others as powerful sorcerers or witches, though their exact nature will likely never be understood. All that is known is that they were powerful enough to protect their land from the Creatures of Grimm and give humanity hope for the first time since the Age had begun.</p>
<p>Though civilization had begun to slowly advance by then, no records ever indicated what started the Sanus Civil War. All that was certain was that the capital city of the Kingdom was completely destroyed and the society itself was split in two. In fact, most historians believe the destruction of the ancient capital city was the very event that left most of Sanus as a desert, as the dates line up with remarkable similarity. Many survivors fled to the east, taking refuge in a safe harbor of land that would, after several more centuries, become known as the Kingdom of Vale. The rest remained in the west, forming what would later become known as the Kingdom of Vacuo.</p>
<p>In all, it is believed the first Age lasted around 550 years. After the Sanus Civil War reached its conclusion, the second Age began.</p>
<p>It is in this period of time that humanity truly began to expand out from Sanus, finally exploring the world in earnest. The earliest records of human settlements in Anima date back to this Age, and it was here that history shows the first Empire being established on that same continent; the Empire of Mist.</p>
<p>Sadly, almost nothing is known about this mighty culture aside from two details: They ruled the entire continent with an iron fist, subjugating every last village and tribe they could find, and that they were very successful in pretty much every venture they undertook. All other information about this fascinating piece of history was lost in the Mist Revolt, the war that saw the Empire topple after reigning unchallenged for close to 350 years. The victors made great strides to purge the world of any and all traces of the Empire. From the ashes of this war emerged the early stages of what would soon become known as the Kingdom of Mistral.</p>
<p>In all, it is believed the second Age lasted somewhere between 600-700 years. After the Mist Revolt ended, the third and shortest Age began.</p>
<p>Even though human civilization had advanced greatly by this point, historical records of the period are still remarkably unreliable. By our best assumptions, the first explorers to the northern continent of Solitas were primarily composed of Mistralians that fled the chaos of the Mist Revolt. Among the explorers that came in later years was a man named Nicholas Schnee… but since other accounts exist of his exploits, I'll skip these for now.</p>
<p>The third Age lasted a mere 50 years, barely a fraction of the span of the second Age, but in that time humanity saw more rapid advancement than both of the previous Ages combined. Dust, which up until this point had been considered more of a weapon than anything else, began to be implemented into every facet of modern society and found a considerable rise in popularity. This lead to the growing importance of corporations like the Schnee Dust Company. Overall quality of life for mankind began to rise substantially in a very short time.</p>
<p>In addition, the proper title of 'Huntsman' first appears in historical records around this time, even though the job itself is one of the oldest and most respected professions in all of Remnant – no one disputes the importance of fighting off the Creatures of Grimm, for the Grimm have <em>always</em> existed. Huntsmen during this period were almost exclusively self-taught or part of small clans that closely guarded their secrets, and no centralized form of warrior training yet existed.</p>
<p>Then the Great War occurred, setting in motion the events that would soon lead to our world appearing as it does today: Four Kingdoms, the Faunus race fighting for equal rights, and Huntsman Academies across the world working together to train the next generations of warriors to defend humanity from the darkness. In addition, our technology has advanced in leaps and bounds due mostly to the work done by researchers in the Kingdom of Atlas, the youngest and currently most powerful of the Four Kingdoms.</p>
<p>At the end of the Great War, the Four Kingdoms sat down together on the island of Vytal and signed a peace agreement – this both guaranteed a lasting peace between them <em>and</em> began the fourth Age in earnest. The Vytal Festival was held every two years after that day to remember that, at least once in our history, mankind came together to secure a brighter future for themselves and the generations to come.</p>
<p>And now, 81 years after the beginning of the fourth Age, mankind once again faces the prospect of a war that would encompass the entire world.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p><em>… </em> <em>… </em> <em>…</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p><em>June 1</em><em>2</em> <em>th</em> <em>, 4-81 </em> <em>— </em> <em>Mistral</em></p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>Anima had quite a few fishing towns all over the western coast, and Aogami was simply one of those. It didn't stand out in the least; it wasn't nearly as big as Argus far to the northeast, but it also wasn't small enough to simply disappear whenever a Grimm passed by the main gate a little too closely. It was… just right.</p>
<p>Despite news of the tragic Fall of Beacon reaching them several months ago, life in Aogami went on as usual. The women and children cared for the homes while the men went out to sea in the mornings and came back in the evenings, most of them with fairly normal-sized loads of fish. If anything, a few fishermen decided their catches seemed <em>better</em> than before. Fear and panic were the furthest things from the minds of Aogami's residents these days, and that suited them just fine.</p>
<p>The only thing this town had that Sam Gria cared about, on the other hand, was booze. The cheaper, the better.</p>
<p>Ol' Silva, the local innkeeper, had sent Sam away an hour ago with three full bottles of Haven's Finest. It was his version of 'payment' for the 2½ days he'd tried to have Sam work for him, only to discover what countless other employers across Mistral had already known: Sam Gria was <em>impossible</em> to work with. And that was fine with Sam, as he really didn't like people all that much.</p>
<p>At 60 years old, an age very few people reached in this godsforsaken world, Sam had long since passed his prime. And he didn't give a damn. He'd actually been rejected by Haven back when he applied, and any time he ever managed to get himself hired for work, poor Sam was let go within a week.</p>
<p>The ironic thing is… his Semblance should have made him <em>invaluable!</em> To <em>everybody!</em></p>
<p>Sam Gria had the power to repel the Creatures of Grimm. Simply being in close proximity to them was enough to drive them away (angrily, one might note). And it was always on, so Sam never had to worry about things like Aura levels or combat training – he simply stood there, and the people around him were safe from attack.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it seemed his power also repelled humans. Or maybe it was his personality. Or his tendency to forget important details rather quickly. Or perhaps it was his clumsy nature, which had once caused the accidental destruction of an entire Dust shop out east (but <em>only</em> one, dammit). Regardless, nobody wanted Sam around. Nobody had any respect for their elders anymore, it seemed.</p>
<p>Whatever. Who needs 'em anyway? Buncha jackasses<em>…</em></p>
<p>Sam took a swig of his booze as he stumbled out of town, gradually heading south down a dirt road that hugged the coast. He hadn't been allowed to stay at an inn for… how long was it? Five years? Seven? Hell, he wasn't even allowed to sleep in the alley next to a dumpster in some towns. Thankfully there was no shortage of abandoned houses and buildings dotting the land between cities, so at least he had somewhere to sleep. Most of the time, anyway.</p>
<p>Up ahead, there was an old fortress that would work just fine as a hidey hole for a day or two. Even in the failing light of sunset, he could see that it had enough solid walls to keep him snug as a bug. If his luck held, he might even find a pinch of Fire Dust lying around inside – gods alone knew how long it had been since he'd been properly warmed beside a real fire. The snows may be long gone, but he was still cold. It was always too cold for him; one of the perks of getting old, he supposed. Maybe one day he'd settle down in the goddamn Vacuo desert.</p>
<p>He took another swig of his drink as he walked on, trying not to stumble and drop his precious cargo down the hillside and into the sea. At least the ocean breeze helped to refresh him a bit.</p>
<p>A lone Beowulf suddenly growled at him from a patch of woods several feet away, just off the road.</p>
<p>Sam growled right back.</p>
<p>The twice-damned thing actually looked <em>offended,</em> raised one of its middle claws in a one-fingered salute, then stomped back into the trees.</p>
<p>Sam Gria scoffed and walked on. He'd gotten used to that reaction by now, but it was still annoying. No respect, dammit.</p>
<p>…And one of these days he was gonna figure out how the stupid things learned to flip him The Bird™ in the first place. Seriously, they <em>all</em> seemed to know how to do that.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>There was a rusted plaque next to the main gate that declared the site as Fort Terminus.</p>
<p>Huh. Never heard of it.</p>
<p>The old fortress was minimalistic in design, with an outer wall surrounding a single courtyard and one large building in the middle. Said building had a single tower that once served as a lighthouse, but it had long since gone dark. The gate was still shut and locked, but the walls had started crumbling away over the years; Sam had no trouble getting in. He quickly found his surroundings to be empty of any potential goods, which was not surprising. No doubt countless other vagabonds had already picked the place clean. Buzzards, the lot of 'em.</p>
<p>One good kick to the front door was enough to grant the old man access to the main building. Inside he discovered it was a lot bigger than it looked. The place had clearly been built for a purpose, though it was damn near impossible to tell what.</p>
<p>The space was roughly square, with a round section of the floor that sat several feet lower. Almost like a pit. Lots of burns and scuff marks indicated where there used to be furniture and equipment, but the layout made no sense to Sam's untrained eye. All he could tell was that something once sat in the center of the pit, and that it wasn't there anymore. A real keen observer he was.</p>
<p>By the time he'd made his rounds and confirmed the sad truth that the fort was completely devoid of stuff to pick through, darkness had fallen. Sam Gria settled himself against the wall next to the front door, pulled out his second bottle of booze (he'd chucked the first as soon as it was empty) and had himself a party.</p>
<p>As he drank, Sam made numerous toasts to Haven Academy, to old girlfriends, to the month of June, to his old employers, and even to his deceased father… gods rest his soul. He ended up finishing that bottle, then half of the last one before dreams finally found him. The Goddess of Grain Alcohol gently rocked the poor old man in her arms and sang him to sleep.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>Something woke him up several hours later.</p>
<p>And for once it wasn't cuz he had to take a piss.</p>
<p>Despite never finishing his combat training, Sam still possessed that innate sense for danger that all potential Huntsmen needed to survive. Right now that sense was screaming at him to run. Or at the very least find cover and hide.</p>
<p>Yet there was no noise. No sign of any kind of disturbance. The angle of the moonbeams peeking through the boarded-up windows indicated that it was probably the small hours of the morning. A faint breeze rustled his salt-and-pepper beard, but other than that Sam could sense nothing.</p>
<p>But then he realized the breeze was getting stronger… and it was coming from the <em>c</em><em>enter</em> the room. He staggered to his feet just before the air broke.</p>
<p>There was truly no other way to say it. As he watched the empty space at the center of the room, Sam witnessed something that resembled a large tear in a piece of fabric – except this was no old bedsheet he could use to add layers to his garments, but the air itself. Blinding light poured out of the hole like the blaze of full sunlight, but Sam kept looking, utterly transfixed. How this was happening or even possible at all was a question no sane person could answer, least of all old Sam Gria.</p>
<p>Out of that rift came… or rather <em>fell…</em> a person.</p>
<p>A moment later, the rift closed and total darkness fell upon the room once again. Sam was momentarily blind.</p>
<p>Panic kept Sam on his feet while shock kept them glued to the spot. His booze-addled brain simply <em>could not</em> process what just happened. Stars danced before his eyes for several minutes until he could just make out the shafts of moonlight from earlier. He frantically rubbed his eyes to get them working again, a mixture of wonder and fear filling his heart as he remembered what he'd seen; a person. Someone had fallen through that rift. It was possible that person might still be alive. But who could possibly survive something like that?</p>
<p>His eyes finally resumed their normal function and Sam looked up… only to find himself staring at a ghost.</p>
<p>At least, that's how his brain interpreted the image. The figure in question stood staring at him, <em>through</em> him, wearing a glowing white hood and cloak. No other details were visible in the murk except for the eyes, which seemed to glow with their own inner light. It almost looked like the ghost was holding two swords, one in each hand.</p>
<p>That was enough for Sam Gria. He passed out on the spot.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … … … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The mysterious figure didn't move for several minutes.</p>
<p>Not that you could blame her.</p>
<p>Less than an hour ago, she had entered this fort on a mission to stop a madman… and now it was empty except for a homeless guy who just passed out? Literally falling apart around her? Of course it took a while for all that to sink in.</p>
<p>She returned Agni and Varuna to their strap, slightly embarrassed at her initial panic, then quietly checked the old man over to make sure he was alright. No major injuries, though his head would likely hurt when he woke up. She carefully straightened him out and left a few Lien on the floor nearby, silently wishing him well before stepping outside to find-</p>
<p>It was night? Already? But… that didn't make any sense. It was full daylight just a few minutes ago.</p>
<p>The figure pulled out her scroll from a pouch at her side with the intent of checking either the time or her location, then frowned at the message displayed on the screen – NO SIGNAL.</p>
<p>Odd. She reasoned to herself that the local CCT tower was probably undergoing maintenance. Happens all the time. No village was so remote that they couldn't access the CCT <em>at all,</em> so it was probably nothing.</p>
<p>There were quite a few questions buzzing through her head, and while she could certainly deduce many of them on her own given enough time, Ozpin and the General would have to answer the rest. It was clear her mission was complete, so all that was left was getting home and being debriefed.</p>
<p>Still, something felt… off. Too many little things were out of place.</p>
<p>With a sigh, the figure returned her scroll to its place and adjusted the twin swords at her hip. She quickly lowered her hood and straightened her hair, a mass of black that glittered with red highlights in the pale light of the moon, then pulled the hood back up and started walking. Her brilliant silver eyes caught sight of a fishing town just up the road from the fort.</p>
<p>Another oddity. Wasn't that town smaller when she arrived this morning?</p>
<p>How long was she <em>in</em> there for?</p>
<p>"Better get home before Tai has a fit," she muttered to herself.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^ω^)</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Homecoming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quick piece of advice: Pay attention to the dates at the start of each scene. I'll be bouncing around between past and current events many, many times during the course of this story and I'd just hate for anyone to get lost… :3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Homecoming</strong>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>June 13th, 4-81 — Aogami</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>The bell <em>ding-a-linged</em> as someone entered the Blue Moon Inn, which was only unusual because it was still a few hours before sunrise.</p>
<p>Ol' Silva looked up from cleaning the counter and found a young woman in her late 20s walking up to him. She pulled her hood back and revealed a head of deep red hair that fell to her shoulders, a pretty face and eyes that seemed rather lost. And she looked… strangely familiar.</p>
<p>"This may sound like an odd question, but… what time is it?"</p>
<p>The old innkeeper glanced at his watch. "3 AM. A bit early to check-in, I'm afraid. How can I help you miss…?"</p>
<p>"I'm afraid I'm in a hurry, Mr. Silva. I need to reach the docks and charter a flight to Vale as soon as-"</p>
<p><em>"Vale?!</em> Hah, I'd find someplace else to go if I were you, Missy. You'd be hard pressed to find <em>anyone</em> willing to fly near that place anymore."</p>
<p>Silver eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And why is that?"</p>
<p>"You don't know? Missy, everybody in town knows about the Fall of Beacon. Apparently a bunch o' them monsters… <em>Grimm's</em> the word… they laid waste to the whole city. Brought down the CCT Tower, too- uh, you alright there?"</p>
<p>"Fall of… brought down… tower…?" The poor girl looked ready to pass out where she stood. "Is that why… there's no signal…?"</p>
<p>"Looks like you really didn't know. Dang. Sorry you had to hear it from an old fool like me, but I'm afraid I don't know too much more about it – no one in these parts knows all that much – but I've seen the pictures. Apparently there's this big honkin' Grimm just… <em>sittin'</em> on top of the ruined tower, frozen in stone or some such thing. Folks think it was a new Atlas weapon or something that did it, but I doubt that myself. Ain't nobody willing to give those military guys the time of day anymore."</p>
<p>"And you're… you're sure Vale was… was…"</p>
<p>"Afraid so, Missy. They're saying the other Kingdoms are getting crowded up with all the refugees from there, but none of 'em ever come this far south-"</p>
<p>"What about Patch? The small island just to the west of Vale? Is it safe?"</p>
<p>"Hmm… … … It don't sound familiar, and I watch the TV reports – local news still comes through now and again. They listed a lot of places that got hit, but I don't think I saw the name Patch."</p>
<p><em>"Oh thank the gods.</em> I need to get to Patch, now! As soon as I can! That's where my family lives!"</p>
<p>"Alright, calm down Missy. Lucky for you I happen to know one or two pilots who owe me a favor. Sit tight and I'll give 'em a call right now. You'll be home in a few days. Sorry it can't be sooner, but like I says-"</p>
<p>"N-no, that's f-f-fine. Th-th-thank you, Mr. Silva."</p>
<p>"And here… you've got the look o' someone who needs a drink. Don't worry, this one's on the house."</p>
<p>She took the proffered glass of whiskey on ice, her hands shaking, as she sat down at the bar. The old man gave her a kind smile as he turned and went to the back room, internally rehearsing what he'd have to say when he made to wake up Campbell at this ungodly hour.</p>
<p>He was also trying to recall where he'd seen that woman before. Her face… it looked an awful lot like a kid who'd come through here a few months ago. But that girl had on a red cloak and traveled with a few other young people, 2 boys and another girl. On top of that, they'd just arrived on a boat <em>from</em> Vale and were headed up to Haven.</p>
<p>He doubted it could possibly be the same person, but the resemblance was frightening.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p><em>… </em> <em>… </em> <em>…</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 19th, 4-81 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>Once upon a time, Taiyang Xiao Long was a happy man.</p>
<p>He had always been happy; whether it was training with his old man or with the rest of team STRQ, raising his two beautiful children or teaching his students at Signal Academy, Taiyang had never really known how to be… <em>not</em> happy. After all, what could a man ask for apart from what he had?</p>
<p>Taiyang didn't know how to be unhappy.</p>
<p>But then, on that fateful day 12 years ago, he figured it out.</p>
<p>Taiyang never used to drink, but now he consumed a pack of something alcoholic every week. He never used to smoke, but now he snuck one or two cigarettes every weekend. And he never used to cry himself to sleep, but… well, yeah.</p>
<p>All because Summer Rose never came home.</p>
<p>The worst part is that no one ever told him <em>why.</em></p>
<p>Summer's final mission had been top secret, even from her own husband. Professor Ozpin had been far more secretive than usual, only adding to Taiyang's agitation; even when Summer was reported missing, the man <em>would not</em> spill the truth no matter how much he demanded to know.</p>
<p>Of all the members of team STRQ, Summer Rose was the one that should have survived. She was the leader, the linchpin that held them all together and actually got the Branwen twins to work with other people. In short, she was a miracle worker. Add to that the way she seamlessly took on the role of Mother for Raven's abandoned daughter and… well, let's just say there was a reason she was known as Super Mom. Qrow once said that she wouldn't die even if you killed her.</p>
<p>So why… didn't she ever come back… to her family?</p>
<p>
  <em>CRACK!</em>
</p>
<p>Taiyang blinked as he looked down at the screwdriver in his hands, now with a broken handle. Great. Third one this month. Why they didn't make these things more durable was beyond him. The man sighed, tossed it aside and grabbed a fresh one before getting back to work.</p>
<p>Thoughts of Summer always haunted him around this time of year, which marked the anniversary of the last time he'd ever seen his wife. Along with them came memories of trying in vain to bring comfort to little Ruby, who spent every single day that year asking when Mommy was coming home. Yang didn't fare much better, but she bravely stepped up and helped raise her sister in Summer's absence. Even though Yang had Raven's looks and his blonde hair, that amazing kid had truly inherited Summer's heart.</p>
<p>Taiyang paused his work to wipe a tear out of his eye. He had always been proud of his girls, but thinking back to those days helped take his mind off Summer for a bit… even though it hurt.</p>
<p>The blonde man stepped away from the workbench and stretched his arms over his head, popping his shoulders loudly. No one was around to hear it, though – Ruby had vanished late last year, leaving just a flimsy note explaining herself, and even Yang took off just yesterday. After months of moping around the house with a broken spirit, Yang Xiao Long had finally found her fire again and did exactly what he expected her to do – go after her sister.</p>
<p>But now that left Taiyang alone at the house, tuning up his old partner late into the night.</p>
<p>He didn't <em>have</em> to, of course – Taiyang Xiao Long was one of the strongest martial artists in Vale, even without his enhancements. This sudden urge to fix up his old partner probably had something to do with Yang getting a brand new prosthetic arm from Atlas. It might have had something to do with Qrow's ominous warning about the force behind the Fall of Beacon. It might have been simple nostalgia. It didn't matter… he simply <em>wanted</em> to do it.</p>
<p>One more screw replaced and Wu Xing gleamed like new. He still needed to refill the small Dust containers, but otherwise it was ready to go again. The rotating cylinder proudly displayed all five symbols of the classic elements, the chambers beneath each empty and waiting for the next batch of unique Dust combinations he'd spent most of his days at Beacon developing behind closed doors. And the whole thing was small enough to sit on his wrist. Truly a wonder of modern engineering.</p>
<p>
  <em>("Maybe one day we can make it even smaller, or incorporate it into a watch! There's no telling what we can do when we work together. Isn't this exciting, Tai?")</em>
</p>
<p>It took everything he had to stop himself from throwing Wu Xing at the far wall of the workshop with all his might. The device would probably survive the trip, but Taiyang would end up going on a rampage that could tear down the house if he didn't stop himself right now.</p>
<p>Summer had helped him design his weapon.<br/>She'd helped him discover his Semblance in their first year together.<br/>She had stayed when Raven abandoned them.<br/>She became Yang's Mom as well as Ruby's.<br/>And she…<br/>She…<br/>She…<br/><em>She went and left them behind right before her birthday!</em></p>
<p>All the strength in his legs vanished as Taiyang finally broke down, falling to his knees as he wept for what he had lost. He didn't try to stifle anything, as there was nobody around to hear him.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p><em>… </em> <em>… </em> <em>…</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>August 1st, 4-57 — Beacon Academy</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>The towers of Beacon looked a lot bigger in real life.</p>
<p>That was the first thing that went through Taiyang's head as he stood before the massive school, bag in hand, ready to begin his training. He had been certain he was ready during the graduation ceremony back at Signal, a little less certain during the ride in the airship, and now that he was actually here… that certainty was nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>Taiyang hadn't been held back like some of the other kids he knew, but he was still a little older than most first-years. And unlike pretty much everyone around him, he didn't have a 'proper' weapon. He was a martial artist, a fighter who preferred using his bare hands. According to his old man and his granddad, weapons like swords or guns would only get in the way of how they fought. Still… this difference left him feeling a just a <em>bit</em> left out.</p>
<p>"Hey, blondie!" a slightly gravely male voice spoke up from behind him, startling Taiyang out of his daydreams. "You gonna stand there all day? Some of us would like to go <em>inside."</em></p>
<p>"Oh, heh… sorry." The boy turned and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. It was one of his nervous habits. "Just kinda overwhelmed. I'm not used to such a big place."</p>
<p>The young man who had spoken wore mostly gray and black, with black hair and piercing red eyes. Next to him stood a young woman with a very similar face and identical eyes, also wearing black. Most likely a close relation, probably his sister. The young man had an easy smile on his face but the girl wore a scowl.</p>
<p>"I'm Taiyang. Nice to meet'cha!" He reached out for a handshake…</p>
<p>…Which the black-haired boy ignored, even though he was still smiling. "Unusual name. Well, I'm sure we'll be seeing you around." And with that the pair walked past him and didn't look back.</p>
<p>Taiyang sighed and muttered to himself, "Yep… Dad was right. City folks are rude." Still, that was no reason to let himself get depressed. With a quick slap of his cheeks, he brightened up and turned to head into the campus-</p>
<p><em>Bump.</em> "Ahh…!" <em>Crash.</em></p>
<p>Well <em>now</em> who's the rude one? <em>Smooth one, Tai. Real smooth.</em></p>
<p>As the boy shook his head to regain his bearings, he quickly found another young woman on the ground next to him. She wore a white cloak with a raised hood that hid her face, but her skirt ended up riding a bit higher than it was designed to after their tumble. Some nice legs there. He couldn't help but stare in the brief moment before the girl came to her own senses, but by then he was on his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.</p>
<p>Unlike the pair from before, this girl accepted his hand and stood with a light grunt. Her bag lay nearby, and after she picked it up the girl pulled her hood back. The face beneath that hood was far more attractive than he expected, with gorgeous silver eyes and thin red lips that almost begged to be kissed.</p>
<p>
  <em>Hey, easy there Self. Get to your first class before you start flirting.</em>
</p>
<p>"I am so sorry. You alright?" Taiyang tried to shift his concern away from how pretty she was in order to make sure he hadn't hurt her.</p>
<p>She nodded, her dark hair glimmering red in the sunlight. "Yeah, thanks. Sorry about that, I was just… kind of overwhelmed. Not used to such a big place."</p>
<p>"You too? Yeah, I probably wasted five minutes standing here before I bumped into you. Name's Taiyang."</p>
<p>"Summer Rose. A pleasure to meet you."</p>
<p>"The pleasure is mine," Taiyang replied as they properly shook hands. Well, at least <em>someone</em> around here knew what a handshake was.</p>
<p>Summer giggled at his words, and Taiyang's heart started beating harder. That was… a <em>really</em> cute laugh.</p>
<p>"Welcome to Beacon, I guess. Heh. Gotta run – hope to see you again, Tai!"</p>
<p>You know… maybe this school wasn't gonna be so bad after all.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p><em>… </em> <em>… </em> <em>…</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 20th, 4-81 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>Taiyang cracked open one eye from his spot on the floor. A quick peek at the nearby clock told him he'd slept through the night… flat on the concrete floor of his garage. It was now 6 in the morning and his body was really, <em>really</em> pissed off at him. Every last one of his joints popped angrily as he got off the floor and made his way inside to make himself some coffee.</p>
<p>Ouch. That was one sleep he'd be working off for a few days.</p>
<p>Even though he wasn't very refreshed, a smell soon hit his nose that instantly blasted his fatigue away – the smell of coffee being prepared.</p>
<p>In the kitchen. Of an empty house.</p>
<p>Waitaminnit…</p>
<p>No one was supposed to be home right now. Yang had gone after Ruby, who was herself headed to the other side of the planet. And no one else on the island had keys to the front door.</p>
<p>
  <em>So who the flaming hell was making coffee in his house?!</em>
</p>
<p>Heart pounding like a drum in a rock band, Taiyang ignored his aches and pains as he crept through the short hallway separating the garage door from the rest of the house. There was no telling who was brazen enough to break in, never mind bother making a cup of coffee for themselves. Yeah it was early, but… the <em>balls</em> on this guy…!</p>
<p>And no matter <em>how</em> incredible that dog was, Zwei doing something at the level of running a coffeemaker was… pushing it. At least, Taiyang really hoped that was the case; any more new tricks and that dog would be more capable around the house than <em>he</em> was.</p>
<p>The kitchen was just around the corner, through an open door. The light was on, and he heard gentle footsteps inside.</p>
<p>Then he heard… humming.</p>
<p>And his heart simply stopped. He knew that voice.</p>
<p>In a total stupor, Taiyang stumbled his way into the kitchen to find himself instantly yanked almost a decade back in time. Back to a time when he was still happy. Back to a time when Yang and Ruby were more worried about getting home in time for supper than the fate of the entire bloody world.</p>
<p>Back to a time… when his wife was more than happy to make the coffee in the mornings.</p>
<p>Exactly like she was doing now.</p>
<p>It certainly <em>looked</em> like Summer – her hair, her posture, her clothes were all correct – but it wasn't possible. Simply not possible. The woman had vanished from the face of Remnant 12 years ago! And the woman before him… <em>hadn't aged a goddamn day!</em></p>
<p>Taiyang must have made a noise, for the woman suddenly turned and flashed him her most dazzling smile and said, "Good morning, sleepyhead. You worked pretty late out there, huh?"</p>
<p>It was Summer Rose. She was really here. In front of him.</p>
<p>"Ah… wu… buh…" Taiyang said in response.</p>
<p>Summer giggled, sending the man <em>right</em> back to the gates of Beacon on his first day. <em>Right</em> back to the moment when he gazed into a pair of silver eyes for the very first time.</p>
<p>"Hmm… maybe I should've made a stronger batch… You okay, honey?" Summer was still smiling, but her eyes appeared confused. As well they should, because… you know… she was back from the dead and everything.</p>
<p>Before he could stop himself, Taiyang was moving forward in a daze. He grabbed Summer by the shoulders (who winced at how hard he grabbed them) and realized she was very solid indeed. He then started running his hands all over her like a dying man who'd just found an honest-to-gods oasis in the desert.</p>
<p>"Tai, what…? What are you… doing…?"</p>
<p>"Are you… are you… … r-r-real?"</p>
<p>"Of course I am, silly! And I heard about what happened to Beacon, but don't worry… I was nowhere near-<em>ACK!"</em></p>
<p>Taiyang's arms quickly wrapped the woman in a bear hug, squeezing harder than they had any right to.</p>
<p>"Gah… need… air…"</p>
<p>His emotions were getting the better of him, but he didn't give a damn.</p>
<p>"Tai… that hurts… leggo…"</p>
<p>Summer Rose, the only woman he ever truly loved, had come ba-</p>
<p>"… … … <em>ORRIYAAA</em><em>—!"</em></p>
<p>For some reason, the kitchen was suddenly doing cartwheels.</p>
<p>
  <em>BAM.</em>
</p>
<p>And then he landed on his head and figured out why. Summer had effortlessly broken his hold and sent him flying with one of her grappling moves. One that <em>he'd</em> taught her, ironically enough. He landed on the other side of the kitchen table, his backside pointed straight up and legs splayed out comically. Pretty sure humans weren't meant to bend this way. Certain cat Faunus he knew, maybe, but not humans.</p>
<p>"Have you calmed down yet, you big lummox?" Summer's stern mom-voice pulled him back to reality as Taiyang un-bent himself and sat up, gazing in awe at the woman before him.</p>
<p>Seconds ticked by. Minutes. Neither of them moved, one because she was waiting for an answer and the other because his lower body was still numb. On the plus side, that landing worked out all the kinks in his back at once.</p>
<p>Finally Summer turned, marched over to the counter and picked up something. It was a picture, one of the family photos from the mantle in the living room. It was one of the pictures sent by Ruby after her first few months at Beacon, showing her along with Weiss, Blake and Yang – team RWBY.</p>
<p>Summer stared at it for a few moments, her eyes clearly conflicted, then she steeled herself and said, "I know I was away for a while, but how do you explain this?" She thrust the photo at him accusingly. "Your pranks don't usually go <em>this</em> far…"</p>
<p>As he looked back at her, Taiyang was struck with a realization; this woman had <em>literally</em> not aged a day. Or if she had, it was only one or two days, a week at most. Not only was she wearing the exact same outfit she'd left in all those years ago, but her face was identical down to the small smudge of makeup from where he'd held her face to kiss her goodbye.</p>
<p>If that was true… by the gods…</p>
<p>"I think… you'd better sit down, sweetheart."</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^ω^)</strong>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em><strong>Official Story Disclaimer:</strong> RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and the illustrious Monty Oum, may he rest in peace. Other than the source material, Roses of Yesterday is totally unrelated to my dimension-hopping multiverse project Paradigm of the Rose. This story was started around the time the last few episodes of Volume 8 were first aired, so while I had plenty of material to work with, the canon story was far from complete during this period. You're a wizard, Harry. No fanfiction is ever 100% accurate to canon and Roses of Yesterday is no exception; the timeline and system of years I've created are based on my own interpretation of Remnant's history, so expect more than a few inconsistencies with the timeline presented by Rooster Teeth if/when it is ever revealed in full. All OCs shown are my own creations except where noted, in which case I will give full credits to the original creators. Any music and lyrics that appear are the properties of their respective copyright holders, as well as any trademarked or copyrighted names or anything else that might have even a slight chance of getting me in trouble. No Corgi trainers were harmed in the writing of this story.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Welcome to Roses of Yesterday!</p>
<p>The idea for this fic came to me after thinking about a different time-travel story, but I reversed the usual idea so that someone is sent forward in time rather than backward. Insert a lead character that hasn't gotten much on-screen time in the show yet, and bam! – here we are.</p>
<p>And since I'm a stickler for details (read: anal perfectionist), I decided to create a more fleshed out timeline for Remnant that should allow me to place canon events in a more consistent way (no offense to the writers at Rooster Teeth, but that's one element of the show they have yet to master). In short… I gave the world of RWBY a calendar. If I had the time or the energy, I would have made a new one from scratch, but I went with a slightly modified version of the normal Gregorian calendar just to keep things simple.</p>
<p>I also developed a Weapon and Semblance combination for both Summer and Taiyang since neither of them had one yet (as of March 2021), and we'll gradually learn more about both of these as the story progresses. Suffice it to say, I'm somewhat proud of how they turned out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Summer Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Summer Rose</strong>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>June 21st, 4-81 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>She'd been prepared for a variety of reasons, excuses and maybe a few drunken ramblings to explain the current situation, but what Taiyang said was nonsense. It simply couldn't be real.</p>
<p>He said the Fall of Beacon happened <em>last year.</em></p>
<p>But… she'd just received her mission <em>at Beacon, </em>inside Ozpin's own office, only a week before.</p>
<p>He said Ruby had been accepted into Beacon Academy just less than two years ago, at the same time as Yang. They'd both grown up to be powerful Huntresses in their own right.</p>
<p>But… Yang had barely come up to her waist on the day she'd set out, and Ruby was even smaller.</p>
<p>He said 12 years had passed; Summer Rose had never come home after her last mission.</p>
<p>But… <em>she'd only been gone for a few days!</em></p>
<p>After hearing everything Taiyang had to say, Summer simply wouldn't believe him. <em>Couldn't </em>believe him. This was just too much.</p>
<p>It didn't matter that everyone else who lived on Patch stared at her in disbelief when she came through yesterday or, in a few cases, complete ignorance; many of them had simply never seen her before. It didn't matter that entire homes and businesses had up and vanished while new ones had taken their place seemingly overnight. And it didn't matter that her husband had <em>literally </em>aged several years since she left.</p>
<p>The more he tried to convince her, the more furious she got. That afternoon saw the first heated argument they'd ever had as Summer ended up screaming at him far more loudly than she thought she could. It didn't make any sense for him to lie, but he had to be lying. He <em>had </em>to be. What kind of sick joke was this?!</p>
<p>Yang and Ruby couldn't possibly have grown up in a week! No! No no no no <em>no! </em>It wasn't possible! Summer had only been gone a <em>few goddamn days!</em></p>
<p>It couldn't be… it just… it…</p>
<p>It couldn't… be…</p>
<p>…Could it?</p>
<p>In time, Taiyang took her by the hand and led her outside. Taking a quick walk through the woods, they soon turned down a path she knew perfectly well; they were headed to the cliff that overlooked the rest of the island. The cliff where Taiyang proposed to her. The single most memorable spot Summer could think of, especially at sunset. For his sake, he'd better be preparing a <em>really good </em>apology, or else-</p>
<p>A carved stone sat at the edge of the cliff. Summer's breath caught when she saw it.</p>
<p>Engraved on the whitewashed rock was her emblem, a rose in full bloom, as well as the name 'Summer Rose.'</p>
<p>Beneath that was the phrase, 'Thus Kindly I Scatter.'</p>
<p>It was her <em>gravestone.</em></p>
<p>Taiyang said, "Everyone on the island came together to have this made. They all loved you, but… you simply vanished. The entire world was convinced you were dead."</p>
<p>Summer's legs gave out, her mind a raging maelstrom of emotions, thoughts, memories and accusations. The woman simply <em>could not </em>accept what she'd been told, but her heart and soul had begun to slowly… painfully… accept it as the truth.</p>
<p>She'd lost over a decade of time. 12 years.</p>
<p>Everyone thought she was dead, including her own family.</p>
<p>12 years… gone. It was time she would never get back.</p>
<p>Time her daughters would never <em>give </em>her back.</p>
<p>Tears began to leak out. In truth, that was the thought that stung the worst; Yang and Ruby had grown up without her. She had essentially abandoned them just as Raven had done to Yang a year after team STRQ had graduated. All those years when her girls had needed her the most were just… <em>gone.</em></p>
<p>When this realization finally sank in, Summer turned to find her husband kneeling next to her on the grass. His face carried all his worry, his fear and his own battered emotions. After she got home last night, she'd <em>thought </em>he was just drunk after partying too hard with Qrow or his other buddies, but now… now she understood where his thoughts had been. Taiyang had been grieving her loss. In a way, he'd never stopped grieving. Her disappearance had destroyed the man she loved.</p>
<p>It was all too much. Too much to bear. No human could handle such a painful revelation.</p>
<p>Taiyang Xiao Long moved to embrace her again, this time without trying to squeeze the life out of her, and held her head to his big, strong shoulder. He didn't speak. He couldn't. No more than she could, anyway. She hugged back automatically, her heart on the verge of shattering into countless fragments.</p>
<p>Tai had almost broken. Yang had been forced to take care of everyone in her absence. Ruby had grown up without her mother.</p>
<p>Summer… had lost the chance… to see her little girl become a woman.</p>
<p>With that one thought, the dam finally broke. Summer Rose buried her face in her husband's chest and wailed with all her might. Emotions flowed like a torrent, tears falling like rivers. She cried and sobbed until her voice grew hoarse, but it didn't matter. None of it mattered.</p>
<p>All that mattered was the arms of the man holding her, the only thing she could cling to in this unfair, stupid world… this world that had taken away the most precious thing in her life.</p>
<p>She cried for what felt like hours until she eventually fell asleep in Taiyang's arms.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>August 2nd, 4-57 — Emerald Forest</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>It was rare to experience the sensation of flying.</p>
<p>For most people, anyway; Summer had lots of experience with it during her training, mostly because her teacher had a tendency to grab her by the head and throw her off a cliff whenever she got a bit too annoying.</p>
<p>What? It was <em>her </em>childhood and she loved it. Don't judge.</p>
<p>Now, however, the sensation was a bit more… <em>controlled </em>as Summer Rose hurled through the air over a sea of greenery the likes of which she'd never seen before. The Emerald Forest well and truly deserved the name; she couldn't even bring herself to draw her swords yet because she didn't want to distract herself from this magnificent view.</p>
<p>Still, she needed to pay attention at <em>some </em>point. It was far too early to let herself get scattered now.</p>
<p>Once her trajectory began to dip, Summer drew her twin blades from her strap and started chopping. Branches and leaves reached out to slap her on the way through, but she quickly cut away the largest of the lot as she passed beyond the canopy. Once through the dense leaves, she flipped the blades backhand and focused on finding jumping points on nearby tree trunks, leaping between them like the ninjas in her old picture book. Soon enough she reached the forest floor, did a tuck and roll, and finally jumped to her feet in the tall grass.</p>
<p>Now <em>that </em>was fun. She made a mental note to ask Professor Goodwitch if she could do that again at some point.</p>
<p>Summer quickly replaced her swords in the strap, gave herself a quick patdown to get rid of loose foliage, then darted off into the forest. Directions were not her strongest suit, but Summer had managed to get a good look at the distant ruins at the height of her jump. She could at least remember which way it was from here.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Guh… Rrr… Aw, c'mon…!"</em>
</p>
<p>A strained voice grabbed her attention several feet to one side. It sounded like someone who needed a hand. Never one to just ignore someone in trouble, Summer reluctantly turned while silently dreading what awaited her. Professor Ozpin's words had been quite clear: <em>'The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.'</em></p>
<p>Who was it? Who could destiny have picked out for Summer Rose? She'd hoped it would be that Taiyang guy she met yesterday, but it didn't sound like his voice…</p>
<p>Sure enough, on the other side of a particularly large tree stood a tall boy with black hair and red eyes. He wore mostly gray and carried a segmented broadsword at his back.</p>
<p>He was also currently waist-deep in a massive pile of something… she really didn't want to get close to. Something that smelled terrible. And the color of chocolate… if chocolate had chunks of corn mixed in and had long ago turned completely rancid.</p>
<p>Sure he was good-looking, but… was this really supposed to be her partner from now on…? <em>Really?</em></p>
<p>Summer gave a sigh, which drew the boy's attention. He looked up, their eyes met, and he also let out a sigh of defeat. Yep, they were stuck with each other now. Stupid school rules…</p>
<p>"Well you're <em>not </em>who I was hoping to see, but I guess beggars can't be choosers." He sounded a lot older than he looked, but that may have just been his normal voice. A bit gravely, but not unpleasant. "I don't suppose you could… give me a little hand, could you?"</p>
<p>Summer clapped her hands politely for a few seconds.</p>
<p>A joke like that was clearly unexpected from someone like her, and the boy choked out a laugh. "Hah. Very funny. But seriously… if I lose my boots in this shit, I'm sending <em>you </em>in after 'em."</p>
<p>Well, what can you do? Summer held her breath, walked closer and grabbed the boy's outstretched hand before pulling with everything she had. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to dislodge the young man from his… predicament. A few minutes later, the boy was trying to clean his formerly-black trousers off with a few large leaves. Summer kept a fair distance between them for the time being.</p>
<p>"Name's Qrow," he said without looking up.</p>
<p>"Oh… Uh… I'm Summer."</p>
<p>"Hmm. A fitting name for someone with such a… sunny disposition."</p>
<p>Hard to tell if that was meant to be a compliment.</p>
<p>"Well, <em>Summer</em>… now that we're stuck with each other, I'm just gonna apologize in advance for what you're gonna be putting up with. See, I'm kind of a walking Bad Luck Charm; things turn sour whenever I'm around, and there's very little I can do about it."</p>
<p>Summer hummed in thought. "Does that mean it was your… 'bad luck' that brought me over to help you? Should I not be here?"</p>
<p>Qrow blinked, momentarily at a loss. "Ehh, I wouldn't say that. I <em>can </em>keep it under control sometimes. Though honestly you're not the one I expected to show up first-"</p>
<p>Before the boy had a chance to finish, something odd happened. The air just behind him… split. A rift of black energy appeared out of nowhere, quickly widened into an oval the size of a door, then…</p>
<p>"Are you alright, brother?"</p>
<p>A female version of Qrow walked through the opening. Summer recognized her from the night they spent in the ballroom, though she didn't get a chance to introduce herself. This girl wore mostly black with a few pieces of red armor, and she carried a katana instead of a broadsword. Other than her hair being far longer, her face was almost exactly the same as Qrows. A twin?</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm fine. No thanks to you. What the hell took you so long? I thought we were supposed to meet up <em>right away." </em>Qrow addressed her with a familiarity that made it clear; they were definitely twins.</p>
<p>Rather than respond, the girl looked at Summer, then back and Qrow, then at Summer again. Her eyes narrowed dangerously before she walked right back through her portal (and really, that's all it could've been) and vanished.</p>
<p><em>"Aaaaand </em>she's mad. Great." Qrow sighed and looked back at Summer. His eyes seemed to be apologizing for him. "That was my sister, Raven. We'd planned to meet up right away so we could stick together, but… well, that obviously didn't happen."</p>
<p>"Bad luck for you." Summer tried not to smile, even though it was kinda funny.</p>
<p>"As always," Qrow said with a nod. "Well… I guess we better get a move on. Sis'll never forgive me if I make her wait all day."</p>
<p>Neither of them spoke again before they reached the ruins. A few Grimm appeared along the way, but Qrow dispatched them with an ease that hinted at lots of combat experience. Who was this guy, anyway? How did his sister find him so easily? How was he so dang strong?</p>
<p>They had no trouble grabbing a relic – a tiny silver figurine of a dog, which they picked over other figurines that included an old silver car, a silver man on a horse, and two gold thimbles – and made it back fine. Qrow took care of everything that came against them, leaving Summer feeling a bit disappointed. And useless.</p>
<p>Not to mention confused when, during the naming ceremony that evening, she was named <em>leader of team STRQ</em> for some inexplicable reason.</p>
<p>Seriously, Professor Ozpin… what were you thinking?</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>December 28th, 4-49 — Mistral</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>"You have a lot of spirit, child."</p>
<p>These were the first words spoken to her by the Tall Woman in the slate gray dress. The first words spoken to her since it happened… as a person, rather than just the survivor of a tragedy.</p>
<p>Mommy and Daddy were gone. Killed in a Grimm attack. She didn't see the event itself, but she was able to identify them for the police. They had told her that she was now an orphan. She would need to go and live with other orphans in The City. Her old life was over.</p>
<p>But then the Tall Woman appeared, holding papers that said she was a relative of Mommy. A… cussin? Coosin? Some word that basically meant she was related. And as a result, the woman was allowed to take custody of the poor, Mommy-and-Daddy-less young girl.</p>
<p>A woman with silver eyes… just like her own.</p>
<p>"What is your name, child?" The Tall Woman asked while kneeling to match her eye level, much to the child's surprise. The last grown-up who did that was Daddy.</p>
<p>Rather than respond, the child pointed at the papers in the woman's hand with a shaky finger.</p>
<p><em>"Speak.</em> I would hear it from your own tongue."</p>
<p>"S-S-S-Summer…"</p>
<p>"And how old are you, Summer?"</p>
<p>"N-N-Nine… and a half…"</p>
<p>Summer Rose stared into the eyes of the Tall Woman, eyes that looked remarkably similar to her mother's eyes, and waited for the next question. Minutes passed in silence. Still she waited, not looking away.</p>
<p>"I see." The Tall Woman finally nodded and gave a tired smile. "You truly have spirit, Summer Rose. Very much like your mother. Did she ever tell you how special you were?"</p>
<p>"Mm-hmm."</p>
<p>"Did she tell you about your eyes?"</p>
<p>"…"</p>
<p>"I didn't think so. Listen to me, Summer… our eyes are very special. <em>Very </em>special indeed. They are rare and powerful; very few people in the entire world possess silver eyes, and we are two of the last. You and I are both destined to lead the life of a warrior."</p>
<p>"…!"</p>
<p>"The reason your parents were killed was because your mother had not yet awoken to her true nature. The enemy found out about her eyes and targeted her for destruction. While I do not know how you survived, I <em>do </em>know that Fate has smiled on you. I am here now."</p>
<p>"…"</p>
<p>"While I weep for her loss, I will not let her death be in vain. As there is no one else who will look after you, I will do it myself. Be ready, Summer Rose… I am not your mother, nor will I treat you like she did. I am your <em>teacher.</em> You will follow my instructions or you will be left behind. Do you understand?"</p>
<p>"… … … Mm-hmm."</p>
<p>"Good girl. Come, it is time we moved on."</p>
<p>From that day forward, Summer Rose grew stronger under the training of the Grimm Reaper herself; Maria Calavera made good on her promise and never coddled or spoiled the girl. When the time came for them to part, she simply gave Summer a short farewell and vanished into the mists.</p>
<p>After that day, Summer often wondered what happened to the old warrior. She never did find out.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>… </em>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 23rd, 4-81 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>Rain fell from a gray morning sky.</p>
<p>Summer awoke in bed, though by no means was the woman rested. She sat up slowly, tired beyond all reason. Her eyes weren't puffy anymore, so that was a good sign. Still, letting loose all those tangled emotions over a day and a half had left her feeling a bit… hollow.</p>
<p>A light bump signaled the entry of her husband, the gentle bear of a man with blonde hair and a goatee who was also holding a tray of… breakfast? That's what the colors suggested, anyway. "Morning, beautiful. I… uh… I made you some eggs and bacon with toast." He wore his normal grin as he spoke, though he seemed a bit worried about the food.</p>
<p>The plate before her held a pile of yellow-colored mush, two square charcoal briquettes and some blackened bookmarks. There was, however, a faint food-like smell hiding beneath the char. Summer smiled; this was exactly what happened every time the man tried making Breakfast In Bed. One of these days she would have to teach him how to do it right.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Tai." Summer spoke in a quiet voice, unwilling to disturb the peace and quiet of the morning.</p>
<p>Taiyang stepped back and rubbed the back of his head. "Next time I'm in town I'll pick up a proper cake to celebrate; a Jen &amp; Berry's ice cream cake, your favorite. I, uh…" he shuffled his feet awkwardly, "I'll let you eat while I, um… c-clean up the kitchen. Give me about 30 minutes and <em>please </em>don't come down before then, okay?" He darted out before she could respond, leaving her to giggle quietly.</p>
<p>Even though the food – for lack of a better word – was terrible, Summer ate every last bite. It didn't matter how good or bad it was. Her husband made it for her, and that made it the greatest Breakfast In Bed in the entire world.</p>
<p>About an hour later, Taiyang came back up to check on her. She hadn't really wanted to move. Not yet. Watching the rain from the window was oddly relaxing. He gave her a worried kiss on the forehead before jumping in the shower.</p>
<p>Eventually she found herself downstairs, sitting on the couch while wearing a robe over her nightgown. Zwei sat at the other end of the couch, still as wary as the moment she first walked through the door two nights ago – she'd initially thought the dog was simply tired and wanted to be alone, but now she understood why he avoided her; Zwei didn't quite believe she was real either. Seems there was a lot she'd wrongly assumed before now.</p>
<p>Summer reached out a tired hand and let Zwei investigate it. The old corgi sniffed, then sniffed again like he couldn't quite believe his own nose, then gave her fingers a tentative lick.</p>
<p>That was all it took. His uncertainty flew away like a leaf in the wind as he barked and happily jumped all over her, licking like his life depended on it. Summer could only giggle and try to hold him back, but she didn't last long. They both ended up a laughing, drool-covered mess a few minutes later.</p>
<p>"Now <em>that's </em>the woman I fell in love with," said Taiyang as he clunked his way down the stairs in just his boxers. "Good ol' Zwei to the rescue once again."</p>
<p>Still laughing, Summer said, "Put some clothes on, you big bear! You don't wanna traumatize the gir-"</p>
<p>The laughing stopped. A heavy silence descended on the room. Zwei whined and tried to lick Summer again, but she'd already sat up and away from him. Thunder rumbled outside with perfect timing.</p>
<p>Taiyang moved quickly to embrace Summer before she could break down again, holding her from behind and murmuring into her ear. The dam very nearly broke all over again, but the arms of her husband bravely held it back a while longer. She clutched his arm until her fingers went white.</p>
<p>"I had a nightmare last night," she whispered. "I dreamed that I found Ruby and Yang, but… but… they rejected me. Blamed me for running out on them… just like Raven did…"</p>
<p>"You know goddamn well they wouldn't do that," Taiyang snapped, trying and failing to hold his frustration in check. "We raised two wonderful children. They loved you more than anything else in the world. Losing you took a toll on <em>all of us,</em> not just me."</p>
<p>"I wish I could believe you, but… I don't know. I just don't know anything."</p>
<p>"Well <em>I</em> do. I know there's no way your daughters could ever hate you, no matter what you <em>think </em>you've done wrong. And you <em>haven't </em>done anything wrong, which means you have even <em>less </em>reason to be worried."</p>
<p>"But… I can't stop thinking about it…"</p>
<p>"In that case, I just have to put your mind on something else."</p>
<p>Taiyang let go and moved back a bit, letting his hands rest on her shoulders before pressing down with his fingers, rubbing in small circular motions and digging into the back of her neck with his thumbs.</p>
<p>"Tai-"</p>
<p>"No backtalk. I haven't had the chance to pamper my wife for quite a long time."</p>
<p>Within moments he'd found and eliminated quite a few knots that had built up during her outburst, and everything after that just served to relax her. The steady rain hitting the roof added a soothing note to the mood.</p>
<p>"Mmm… Ooh… You've gotten better, I think…"</p>
<p>She could feel him shrug from behind her. "It's <em>not </em>from constant practice, I assure you."</p>
<p>"Whatever… just don't stop…"</p>
<p>"As you wish."</p>
<p>The massage continued for several minutes as Taiyang's hands worked their way up to her scalp (leaving her whole body tingling) before going back down her neck and past her robe. She shivered as she leaned forward, letting the robe drop so he could reach a bit lower. Zwei took the hint and scampered out of the room.</p>
<p>"You know…" Taiyang's voice took on an edge Summer rarely ever heard. "We're technically alone right now…"</p>
<p>He brushed a finger up her spine, laughing as she lightly squeaked.</p>
<p>"No kids to interrupt anything…"</p>
<p>He brought both hands lightly down her shoulders, barely touching the skin and sending goosebumps across her entire body. Despite the fact that his words reminded Summer of her troubles, his touch really did keep her focused on him. When did he get so good at this?</p>
<p>His voice whispered right into her ear, tickling her with his stubble. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Summer Rose?"</p>
<p>"Maybe. What are you thinking, Taiyang Xiao Long?"</p>
<p>"I'm thinking that we have a rare chance to do something we don't normally do. Something that would make our children disown us if they ever found out about it."</p>
<p>"Are you sure you can keep up, old man~?"</p>
<p>"I can take you on any day of the week, young lady."</p>
<p>"Is that a challenge? Need I remind you that last time we did it, you couldn't stay on top for more than a minute?"</p>
<p>"I'll have you know I'm not the same man I used to be."</p>
<p>"Challenge accepted. I'll leave you <em>begging </em>for mercy."</p>
<p>"Bring. It. <em>On."</em></p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>"Hah! Take <em>that </em>sucker!"</p>
<p>"Oh, are you <em>kidding </em>me?! How is that move legal?"</p>
<p>"Eat Blue Shell, loser! <em>Mwa-ha-ha!"</em></p>
<p>"You <em>do </em>realize that you're only winning because of that 'Rubber-Banding' effect, right?"</p>
<p>"Excuses, excuses…"</p>
<p>There would be time enough later to explore the effects of Summer's unintended journey. Time enough to explore the depths of the changes that had taken place since then. Time enough to decide what to do next, since Summer couldn't exactly debrief to a missing headmaster and she had a lot of catching up to do with her family.</p>
<p>Instead, she and her husband indulged in an activity that served to finally let her expel the rest of her pent-up frustration and energy in a way that they both could enjoy. An activity that they would <em>never </em>do with other people in the house. Even Zwei didn't dare come into the room with all the shouting.</p>
<p>Scrolls in hand, Summer and Taiyang each drove a virtual go-cart around a virtual race track displayed on their TV. A nice, friendly video game.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>And yes, in case you were wondering, they did other Mommy And Daddy Stuff later that night… but since this isn't that kind of story, we'll catch up with them tomorrow. After they're done.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>…</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^</strong>
  <strong>ω</strong>
  <strong>^)</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Before you complain, note that there isn't any evidence of Maria and Summer having no relationship at all; that tidbit was inspired by a bit of fanart from the one and only Dishwasher1910.</p>
<p>In the canon story, Summer Rose is a character about whom I am… conflicted. On the one hand, I'd love to know her full backstory and all the details… but on the other, I feel like it would be better to keep her shrouded in mystery and speculation. After all, look what happened when the people behind Doctor Who wrote an origin story for the Doctor. Oof.</p>
<p>That said, this story is meant to be an exploration of the character's past and personality, so I needed to come up with something. And while I have no expectations of it actually ending up being accurate to what we might see in canon someday, that's not the point. All I'm trying to do is humanize a figure that, up until now, was basically a legend. I hope that makes sense.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Shadows of the Past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Friendly reminder that while the setting for this story is meant to be as close to canon as possible, it cannot and will not be 100% accurate.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Shadows of the Past</strong>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>June 13th, 4-81 — Anima</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Raven never slept at night. Too many things could go wrong while she wasn't looking.</p>
<p>Her tribe mostly operated at night anyway, which helped. And it made the job easier.</p>
<p>Tonight was annoyingly quiet. She'd just had most of the guys finish packing up all the tents and equipment an hour ago so they could relocate the camp a bit further north. After she'd heard about Atlas getting ready to close their borders, it was an easy choice; airships would be getting desperate now, meaning they'd try cutting across Anima's inland sea to save time. Easy pickings.</p>
<p>Everybody had a job to do and they all knew what that job was. Everybody was smart enough to keep their cool while traveling… because nobody wanted to bring the Grimm down on their heads.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that meant they couldn't go out on any raids. Not for a few days at least. No raids meant people would get bored. And bored people tried things.</p>
<p>And when bored people try things, Raven had to start stabbing.</p>
<p>One of the iron-clad rules of the tribe was to remain quiet while relocating. Raven barely spoke anyway (unless some fool forgot where his hands belonged), but Vernal seemed anxious to say something. As long as it wasn't life or death, she knew it could wait. Thankfully they'd left that idiot Shay behind at an outhouse a few miles back, so spirits were higher than usual overall.</p>
<p>It was on nights like these that Raven found herself thinking of the past. Of her days as a student at Beacon. As a member of team STRQ.</p>
<p>She would never admit it, even under torture, but those were days she genuinely enjoyed. She didn't have to worry about her secret mission as part of the Branwen tribe, and for the most part, she didn't have to worry about keeping her guard up at all times of the day and night. Few threats could make it past the combined might of her brother <em>and </em>those other 2 morons.</p>
<p>No, that wasn't fair to say. Summer Rose was a brilliant woman.</p>
<p>(Meanwhile on Patch, a certain blonde man sneezed.)</p>
<p>On a whim, Raven summoned her Aura and sought out her Bonds. Instantly she felt three distinct energies from vastly different locations – one just to the southeast, which could only be Qrow following those kids… another somewhere to the northwest, off the coast of Vale, which felt like Yang… and one back on Patch, which was obviously Taiyang loafing around in his house. When she couldn't fly off to see them herself, Raven liked to check up on everyone like this just to make sure they were still-</p>
<p>Wait.</p>
<p>The energy on Patch felt weird. Like there was… more than one signal in the same spot.</p>
<p>But that was <em>impossible.</em></p>
<p>A long time ago, Raven had a fourth Bond. The person who that Bond connected her to was now dead. She died over a decade ago. Raven <em>felt </em>the Bond vanish at that moment and knew, without any doubt, that Summer Rose was gone.</p>
<p>The mystery signal on Patch flickered a bit.</p>
<p>Sighing, Raven released her Aura and felt the Bonds fade. They were still 'there' of course, and she could call out to them anytime she wanted… they simply weren't on her mind normally. That ghost signal must have been a fluke caused by her tiredness. She'd have a closer look next time she went out flying, just to be sure.</p>
<p>Once they'd set up camp again, Raven was ready to leave Vernal in charge and bury herself under the covers for a week.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>October 30th, 4-68 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Baking of Cookies was something of a sacred event in their house. One didn't simply <em>bake cookies </em>when one lived in the same house as women bearing the last name of Rose.</p>
<p>That said, The Baking of Cookies for a <em>birthday </em>was practically a national holiday. Especially when that birthday was for Summer's baby girl. <em>And</em> Yang's little sister, can't forget that detail.</p>
<p>Summer had no problem whatsoever letting Yang work alongside her for this sacred duty. Yang always enjoyed it, too. Or maybe she enjoyed beating the eggs to within an inch of their life. Or the dough. Or rolling it as flat as possible. A sweet and sticky form of stress relief.</p>
<p>"ARE YOU GONNA LET THAT COOKIE DOUGH GET THE BETTER OF YOU, YANG XIAO LONG?"</p>
<p>"MA'AM, NO MA'AM!"</p>
<p>"THEN YOU SQUEEZE THAT DOUGH AS FLAT AS YOU CAN; IF IT'S THICKER THAN 5mm, THAT MEANS IT'S STILL BREATHING!"</p>
<p>"YOU GOT IT, BOSS MOM!"</p>
<p>What? No one said it was supposed to be boring.</p>
<p>Little Ruby wasn't brave enough to join them just yet, so she timidly watched the goings-on from the kitchen door. She <em>was </em>smiling broadly, one should note. In due time, the more… <em>violent </em>parts of the process were done and she joined the others as they gazed lovingly at the tray in the oven. It helped that the warmth radiating from the appliance was almost as good as a fireplace at this time of year.</p>
<p>All three of them – Summer, Yang and little Ruby – inhaled the aromas deeply. And they sighed.</p>
<p>"The waiting is the hardest part," Yang said sagely.</p>
<p>"I know, right?" Summer nodded as she gave her girls a hug.</p>
<p>"…Hey, Mom?"</p>
<p>"Yes, Sweetie-Pie?"</p>
<p>"You think we could… do this tomorrow, too? I think Rubes'll be old enough to help out this time…"</p>
<p>"Of course, honey." Summer had to swallow a lump in her throat as she embraced both of her girls once again, planting a big, sloppy kiss on both foreheads. "I don't ever plan on stopping this tradition with you. If Cookies A-Rose™ is ever gonna take over the world, we've gotta start somewhere."</p>
<p>"Awesome!"</p>
<p><em>"Aww-shum!"</em> Ruby cheered as well, holding her stuffed Beowolf doll in one arm.</p>
<p>Summer had to wait a moment to make sure she wasn't going to start crying. Once she caught her breath, she muttered, "…Don't ever change, girls."</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 7th, 4-69 — Beacon Academy</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>"Good day, Miss Rose. Thank you for coming."</p>
<p>"General… Ozpin…"</p>
<p>The mood of the room was tense, but that was the case anytime the old leader of the Atlas Military was in the room. General Pastoria was getting very close to retirement age, but he'd always said they'd have to shoot him before he'd think about stepping down. A few of his officers seemed to be taking that statement very seriously.</p>
<p>Professor Ozpin sat at his desk in silence, though he did give Summer a smile as she entered the room. She knew he was involved in whatever this mission entailed, but that his own instructions would wait until the General left the room. Details first.</p>
<p>"Now I'm sure you're wondering why we only summoned <em>you,</em> Miss Rose. There are 2 reasons: first, the nature of this mission is very sensitive, and the fewer people who know the details, the better, and second, your teammates are not as skilled as you are in the fields required for this mission to succeed."</p>
<p>"So… you need someone who can get it done quick and clean, right?"</p>
<p>"You have a talent for succinct summaries, Miss Rose." The old man rubbed his white mustache for a moment, then slid a folder across the desk. Summer took it and gave the contents a quick run through.</p>
<p>Inside were several papers, notes on a strange device, and photos of a very old man with the name Chianti written next to them. Other photos showed various assistants working with him, but he was clearly the focus; it was hard to mistake his tuft of white hair and wizardy beard for anyone else.</p>
<p>"Doctor Chianti, pictured there, is the target. We need you to eliminate him and put a stop to his project."</p>
<p>"You want me to kill him…?"</p>
<p>"He is <em>exceedingly </em>dangerous, Miss Rose. The research he is undertaking has the potential to completely change the world, and we know for a fact that he plans to wreak havoc with it."</p>
<p>"If you want him dead, Qrow or Raven would be a better choice-"</p>
<p>"An option we have already discussed," Ozpin cut in before Pastoria could refute her. "But as the General said, the nature of this mission is very… sensitive."</p>
<p>"You don't trust them." It wasn't a question.</p>
<p>"Not with this, no." Pastoria pulled a flask from his pocket and took a chug, then wiped his mouth and continued. "The files you hold will tell you what you need to know, but the key to his research is Chianti himself. His Semblance."</p>
<p>"…What does that mean?"</p>
<p>"Doctor Chianti has the ability to <em>jump 2 seconds forward in time.</em> At first he considered it merely a handy skill that let him avoid things like gunshots or traps that would otherwise leave him incapacitated, but as he learned more about his powers… he became obsessed with the idea of harnessing his Semblance into a machine; a Time Machine."</p>
<p>"These drawings…?"</p>
<p>"He's already in the prototype stage. We believe he's getting ready to start testing. You have to stop him before it's too late."</p>
<p>"And this is why you don't want Qrow or Raven to do it? Because you're afraid of what they might do with this information?"</p>
<p>Ozpin looked up again, "Miss Rose-"</p>
<p><em>"Don't you 'Miss Rose' me, Ozpin! </em>These are my <em>teammates </em>you're talking about. I don't appreciate you treating them like some kind of criminals."</p>
<p>"..."</p>
<p>"But I understand. I'll take the mission. But just so we're clear, this is the last one."</p>
<p>"Summer?"</p>
<p>"I have a family now, Professor. I can't keep leaving them behind while I go out and clean up your messes. And I especially don't want to become your personal assassin. If my little Ruby found out, how could I possibly look her in the eye again?"</p>
<p>"I understand, Miss Rose. Once you're finished, I'll be sure the Council grants you the best retirement package they have. I promise you… this will be the last one."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Professor. Now… where am I headed?"</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 25th, 4-81 — Patch</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The house was quiet and dark in the early hours. Old photos from Taiyang's collection covered the living room rug; he'd pulled them out yesterday so he and Summer could work their way through the dozen or so years that had passed without her. They were at it all day, too; Tai had quite a few stories to tell. He wasn't all that <em>good </em>at it, but she didn't mind.</p>
<p>Summer and her husband sat at the kitchen table shortly before sunrise, watching the surrounding forest from the window and sipping their morning coffee together. If one didn't know better, one would think it was a scene from a decade earlier… but considering what Summer had told her husband a few minutes ago, you'd be forgiven for doubting reality.</p>
<p>"You're saying… that your final mission involved some guy building a time machine," Taiyang said with a clear note of incredulity. "And you had to stop him."</p>
<p>Summer nodded. "According to the file Pastoria gave me, Dr. Chianti had detailed plans for ways to influence major world events in the past as well as plans to acquire very advanced technology from the future. He fully expected his device to work."</p>
<p>"What… nothing about sending a killer robot into the past to kill you before you were even born?"</p>
<p>"I'm not dignifying that question with a response…"</p>
<p>"Sorry. Well, I would ask if it <em>did</em> work, but…" the man gestured to all of her, "…I think the answer is pretty clear."</p>
<p>"Clear as mud," Summer growled. "The more I think about it, the more I think it was all a setup. Someone must have been waiting for me inside the fort. All I remember is a quick look around, spying on Dr. Chianti and a few of his assistants from the shadows, then… a flash of light, falling to the floor, and finding myself in the… … … p-p-present."</p>
<p>"Someone snuck up on you?"</p>
<p>"That's all it could have been."</p>
<p>"Hmm…" Taiyang slurped his drink thoughtfully. "Then why didn't they send you further? It sounds to me like all they had to do was set the machine to 100 and never have to worry about you again-"</p>
<p><em>"That's what I'd like to know!" </em>Summer snapped, slamming her mug on the table and spilling it. "I don't have <em>any </em>answers, Tai… I have <em>no idea</em> what happened in there!"</p>
<p>Taiyang's voice fell quiet, almost speaking in a whisper, "What do you want to do, then?"</p>
<p>"I… … … I don't know," Summer said. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I just-"</p>
<p>"You need closure."</p>
<p>Summer looked up at her husband, studying his face. There was no hint of mirth in his blue eyes.</p>
<p>"You want to know exactly what happened, right?"</p>
<p>She nodded, not trusting herself to keep a level voice.</p>
<p>"Then let's get out there and find out. This… Dr. Chianti person was from Mistral, right? How about we go track down any clues that might tell us where he ended up… reports that might tell us what happened at the fort after you vanished… <em>anything </em>that could help set your mind at ease. I can't stand seeing you like this, sweetheart."</p>
<p>"I <em>do</em> need to debrief at some point, even if I have to track down Pastoria in a nursing home. It probably doesn't matter after so long, but I'd rather not risk it. And if that's the case, I'll go by myself-"</p>
<p>"Like hell you will. Do you <em>really </em>think I'm gonna just sit by and let you walk away again? No way. No way in hell. Summer Rose, my dearest wife, <em>I am not letting you out of my sight again."</em></p>
<p>"Tai…"</p>
<p>"And besides… a lot of things have changed since you disappeared. <em>Someone's </em>gotta bring you up to speed."</p>
<p>"What about your job? Aren't you still a teacher at Signal? Or did you get fired while I was away?"</p>
<p>"With everything that happened at Beacon, classes at Signal Academy are on 'indefinite hold.' I've got a lot of vacation time saved up anyway."</p>
<p>Summer felt her mouth curl up in a smile. "Sometimes I forget you can be smart when you feel like it."</p>
<p>The man gave a theatrical gasp, scooting his chair back and looking as offended as possible. <em>"Young lady!</em> I'll have you know I'm <em>just </em>as smart as you are."</p>
<p>One eyebrow flew up. "…Was that supposed to be a compliment?"</p>
<p>"If you want breakfast, then yes."</p>
<p>A moment of silence passed between them before they started giggling. Neither of them spoke again for the next hour as they watched the sun rise behind the treeline, rays of gold and orange spreading across the sky. It was like a grand painting unfolding before their eyes, a marvelous display of nature, and all for them alone.</p>
<p>Taiyang quietly said, "Besides… Ruby and Yang will have reached Haven by now. We can meet up with them when we get there."</p>
<p>Summer's gut roiled at the idea. The image of her girls rejecting her from the dream was still sharp in her mind. The fear of what they might actually say when she saw them again was all too potent in her heart. Sure she could <em>assume</em> that everything would be okay, but… she'd already been wrong about so many other things.</p>
<p>A hand on her shoulder pulled Summer's attention back to her husband, who was watching her with worry in his eyes. For his sake, she smiled and said, "O-Okay. Let's d-do that."</p>
<p>"Relax, honey. Everything will work out okay."</p>
<p>She touched his hand with her own and sighed. "I know, but I can't help worrying about it."</p>
<p>"How about this… if we're gonna go as far as Mistral, I think it's only fair that we stop by Beacon first. I'm sure Glynda and the others will be thrilled to know you're okay. I know it's still a mess over there, but…"</p>
<p>There might also be clues to point them in the direction of the missing headmaster of the school. Stopping at Beacon first really did make a lot of sense. Summer wanted to say all that, but her voice crapped out on her right then. She simply nodded, still holding her forced smile.</p>
<p>"Sit tight and I'll go start packing. Seriously, <em>don't move."</em> And with that the blonde man stood up, gave her a gentle kiss on the lips and went upstairs.</p>
<p>The woman sighed, rubbed her shoulders and looked back out the window. She didn't bother keeping up her smile anymore.</p>
<p>Summer had faced down Grimm of all shapes and sizes during her career as a Huntress. She'd slain monsters that could destroy entire towns without much effort. Working with her team, she'd saved more lives than she could count. And she'd done it all with a fair level of confidence in both her teammates and her own level of skill.</p>
<p>But now, faced with the possibility of meeting her children again after being gone for more than a decade, Summer Rose was scared to death.</p>
<p>…</p>
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<p>
  <em>June 27th, 4-81 — Aogami</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Ol' Silva considered himself a friendly guy. Everyone in town knew him personally, and he knew them. Visitors that came through on their travels ended up getting to know him pretty quickly; his amiable attitude won him quite a few close friends over the years. As a result, he considered himself a remarkable judge of character at a glance.</p>
<p>And the man who walked in tonight instantly gave him a very bad feeling.</p>
<p>"Ah, you must be Silva Sterling, the owner of this <em>fine </em>establishment." He gave a theatrical wave as he spoke, his black eyes twinkling in the lamp light. "It is an honor to meet you."</p>
<p>Silva put on his nicest smile… and a few regulars quietly stood up to leave. They knew that smile, and what it meant.</p>
<p>"Can I help you, bud?"</p>
<p>The man before him was tall and very lanky, with no visible muscle definition anywhere. His hair was almost as black as his eyes, though his sideburns shone with gray accents. He was annoyingly handsome, the kind of guy that most sensible husbands tried their damnedest to keep away from their wives.</p>
<p>Yet underneath that layer of polish was… something indefinable. Something dark. It made Silva think of an old, rotted out shed with a fresh coat of paint and new trim work around the door – it may have looked nice on the surface, but no one would <em>dare </em>open the door to see what was festering inside.</p>
<p>"As a matter of fact, you can." The man grabbed a stool from the bar and mounted it, throwing one leg over the top and settling in. Those black eyes reminded Silva of a shark. "You see, I'm looking for an old friend of mine. A woman. Not from these parts."</p>
<p>"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that, I'm afraid…" Silva's smile wavered only slightly as the stranger stared into his soul.</p>
<p>"Oh I can be <em>very </em>specific," the man said, leaning closer. "White cloak… deep red hair and eyes like two pools of mercury… carried two swords at her hip… and she would have come through <em>exactly </em>two weeks ago. Ring any bells?"</p>
<p>The only bells ringing in Silva's head were alarm bells. Of course he remembered the lost woman who needed a lift, but there was no chance in hell this guy was… her friend…</p>
<p>Wait… did he really see her?</p>
<p>There was something there… but who was it?</p>
<p>No, must have been nothing. Strange… it felt like he might've seen her, but his memory had gone blank. All he could recall was making a phone call at 3 in the morning, but not why.</p>
<p>"Aw, well that's too bad," the stranger said after Silva told him this. "I was sure she came through here, but if even <em>you </em>can't remember then… perhaps I was mistaken. My apologies."</p>
<p>"It's not a big deal. At my age I'm lucky to remember what I had for lunch yesterday. Now if there's nothing else you need…"</p>
<p>The man was already on his feet and heading for the door, but he stopped and smiled again. "Sadly, no. However, I <em>do </em>appreciate the help." He whipped out a few Lien and laid them on the counter. "If I ever come through these parts again, I'll be sure to look you up."</p>
<p>With that, the tall man strode out the door with a just few ground-eating steps. Silva watched him go until he was out of sight.</p>
<p>For some reason, that last statement sounded like a threat.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>"How did it go, Master?"</p>
<p>"Perfectly. The foolish woman came straight here seeking a way to reach Vale and… some place called Patch. An island her family once lived on. Though I suppose I can't blame her… if I ever found myself at the other end of a time-warp like that, I would also try to make my way home as soon as possible."</p>
<p>"Though in your case, you wouldn't <em>'ask' </em>for help."</p>
<p>"Obviously not. What do I look like, a Huntsman?"</p>
<p>"You look like a man with a score to settle. Do you think she knows you're tracking her down?"</p>
<p>"Hardly. Even though she was able to resist my influence back then, I still removed almost everything before I ran out of Aura. I've no doubt she has no clue what happened at all on that day …nor what she did to My Love."</p>
<p>"Oh yeah. I heard about what happened to Dr. Chianti. My condolences for your loss."</p>
<p>"Only the blood of that woman will satisfy me, Emmya. I don't need your pity <em>or </em>your empty words. And what did I tell you about calling me 'Master' in public?"</p>
<p>"My apologies, <em>Professor.</em> Now what would you have me do?"</p>
<p>"I need information. That Huntress may be over a decade late, but it <em>is </em>possible she still has living allies. I need to know who they are, as well as any details of her family. I will not be caught off-guard again. Start with the island of Patch, then the people in and around Beacon Academy. I will contact you for periodic reports."</p>
<p>"As you wish. What will you do?"</p>
<p>"… … …I'm calling in a favor. If we're going to bring down a Huntress who is still in her prime, we need more hands. Which reminds me… before you get started on that, find your old partner and bring them on board. I'd rather not take any chances."</p>
<p>"… … …Fine."</p>
<p>"…"</p>
<p>*sigh* <em>"Not that asshole again…"</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^</strong>
  <strong>ω^)</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>One thing I wanna note before I get too much further here is that I've tried to consider the scale of the world when thinking about how much time is passing between events – Ruby and the rest of team RNJR are effectively traveling across half a continent ON FOOT during volume 4, so it only makes sense that they take a very long time to reach Haven. Longer if you include getting over to Anima itself and stopping at all the villages they help along the way. The show has always been rather infamous for Telling (instead of Showing) the passage of time, so I don't really have a lot to work with; Weiss being stuck at home and Yang making her way to the mainland are still workable, but fitting in Blake and Sun's journey to Menagerie is gonna be a bit more tricky. Still, I'm having fun with it… and I hope you are too.</p>
<p>Speaking of the show, I haven't been watching volume 8 but I'm told it isn't quite done yet (apparently they're going for 14 episodes this time). And since I'm waiting for all of it to be free to watch so I can binge the whole thing in one go, I'm gonna respectfully request that nobody mention spoilery stuff in the comments just yet. I will watch it, but in a bit.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Alma Mater</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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<p>
  <strong>Alma Mater</strong>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>June 26th, 4-81 — Mistral, near Kuroyuri</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Qrow had been carried <em>out</em> of quite a few places in his life, mostly taverns.</p>
<p>Being carried <em>into</em> a place was… a bit different.</p>
<p>Not that he had any choice in the matter. Ever since the fight with that scorpion-tailed freak, the man had been getting weaker and weaker. He could bear the pain in the beginning – pain was nothing new to Qrow Branwen – but after a time it rendered him unable to even walk on his own two feet. It seemed like scorpion venom was nothing to sneeze at.</p>
<p>Ruby and Jaune were carrying him through an abandoned town to make the trip easier on him. Ren and Nora had taken a different route through the mountains in the hope of saving time. And all because he'd been careless.</p>
<p>No… <em>unlucky.</em></p>
<p>But what else was new?</p>
<p>Qrow may have carried actual medicine with him on his travels – he was still a damn Huntsman, thank you very much – but his painkiller of choice (20-proof, by the way) had no effect on this particular brand of hurt. All it took was one look at his bandages to make that clear. Wounds didn't normally bleed purple.</p>
<p>Sleep tried to engulf him numerous times during the walk, but the pain kept it from taking him all the way. The kids didn't bother trying to talk to him, especially after their little fireside chat the other night, which did nothing to put the man at ease.</p>
<p>Instead his mind wandered, drifting into the past… to the good ol' days at Beacon. And he let it drift. Anything was better than dwelling on the constant pain that had become a part of him.</p>
<p>They should reach Haven before they attracted any Grimm.</p>
<p>If they were lucky.</p>
<p>…</p>
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<p>
  <em>March 12th, 4-58 — Beacon Academy</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>They were coming up on the end of their first year together, and Qrow had finally started getting comfortable around his teammates. Sharing a dorm room was an unwelcome change at first, but he quickly got used to it (faster than Raven did, at any rate). Dealing with teachers and other students was also a switch, but the boy was nothing if not flexible.</p>
<p>"You lying, cheating, <em>piece of shit! !"</em></p>
<p>"Oh yeah? <em>You're</em> the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do! WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!"</p>
<p>"I'm leaving you and I'M TAKING RAVEN WITH ME! ! !"</p>
<p>"<em>Aaaaaand</em> we're done for today," Qrow said as he quickly gathered up the cards strewn about the table. Yet another round of Remnant: The Game in which diplomatic relations rapidly broke down into full-scale war. Nobody won the game, either.</p>
<p>At this rate, team STRQ would be banned from the library.</p>
<p>Qrow's partner, the young Summer Rose, had gained a bit of a reputation among the other first-years as… something like a mother-in-training. She was always paying more attention to the kids around her than to herself. It was like she couldn't help it. All too often he would catch the girl ignoring her own needs to give other students help that they <em>didn't </em>desperately need (skipping her lunch for an impromptu session of tutoring was her most common offense).</p>
<p>Summer's constant companion throughout the year was actually Raven's partner, the blonde man called Taiyang. He was a stand-out among the students as well, but for other… less noble reasons. He often acted first and thought second, and him getting in trouble with other students of the female variety was a weekly event. Was it any wonder that he and Qrow got along so well?</p>
<p>It needed to be said, however, that both Taiyang and Summer were proving themselves to be exceptional warriors. If they fought together, not even Qrow and Raven could stand against them. That was a high compliment.</p>
<p>Now if they could just play a normal card game without going for each other's throats…</p>
<p>A tired sigh caught everybody's attention; Professor Goodwitch was rubbing her temples as she waited for a moment to speak. She seemed to do that a lot. "I'm here to collect you all for special training. If you wish to participate in the 29th Vytal Festival Tournament, you will need to attend this session."</p>
<p>"Oh, okay," Summer said with a smile.</p>
<p>"We'll be… right there…" Taiyang wheezed from within her iron grip.</p>
<p>Goodwitch sighed again, then added, "I will be deducting points for tardiness." She turned smartly on her heels and marched out the way she came. Qrow paused his efforts to get one look at her retreating form – a very, <em>very</em> quick look – before finishing the cleanup.</p>
<p>Summer and Taiyang went out first to get ready. Qrow stood up from the table to follow, but the quiet voice of Raven stopped him before he got too far.</p>
<p>"What are we even <em>doing</em> here, brother?"</p>
<p>Qrow looked over at his sister, a girl only minutes older than himself who had been sitting quietly at the table throughout their game. Her arms were crossed in thought. She clearly had something on her mind.</p>
<p>Despite growing up together, Raven had become very distant from her brother over the last year. They barely ever spoke, and when they did it was short and to the point, just like now. They may not have gotten along well before coming to Beacon, but they at least shared their thoughts freely. Now… it was like they were almost strangers.</p>
<p>"I'd say…" Qrow let the words hang in the air as he turned to head for the door. "…The answer lies with those two. Shall we?"</p>
<p>…</p>
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<p>
  <em>June 27th, 4-81 — Downtown Vale</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Taiyang didn't <em>dare</em> let his mind wander as he measured out exactly how much Dust he needed. He'd done that once before… but then Mulberry had made <em>absolutely</em> sure he never forgot it again.</p>
<p>He shuddered at the memory.</p>
<p>13 individual vials of Dust sat before him on the counter, ready to go into the Blender. They varied in type, but all were the common varieties – Fire, Wind, Electric, Gravity, Plant and Rock. No need for the expensive types like Hard Light. Thankfully no one was around to ask what he was doing – Summer was still at the city library with Goodwitch, Port and Oobleck were fetching a few supplies, and Zwei was currently distracting both Mulberry and Peach. Taiyang had the Dust Lab to himself.</p>
<p>They called it that, but the sign over the door said 'From Dust Till Dawn' in big letters. The old shopkeep, like most other civilians in Vale, had evacuated almost a year ago. The night of the Fall. Beacon staff and the remaining students had taken temporary possession of this shop, along with a few others in the city, though Goodwitch assured him that all affected business owners would be compensated once repairs were finished.</p>
<p>And after an entire year, that was actually looking plausible. Grimm still inhabited the school campus, but the city itself was virtually monster-free. Repairs and civil work had been progressing for a few months now, and Goodwitch was confident that they could welcome the refugees back before the end of the year.</p>
<p>That is, if they could just take care of <em>THAT.</em></p>
<p>Sitting atop the ruined CCT tower was the only thing that hadn't changed <em>at all</em> since that fateful night; a gigantic Grimm, frozen in stone, that continued attracting more and more Grimm to itself day and night. With that thing keeping the monster population going strong, there was no way Glynda could declare an end to the crisis.</p>
<p>Taiyang carefully loaded two vials into the Blender and hit the button.</p>
<p>Summer had seen the photos back home, but actually arriving in Vale had still been a shock. Granted, they'd seen plenty of giant Grimm during their days as team STRQ, but never had one parked itself right on top of their <em>school o</em>f all places. That was nigh-unforgivable. Her expression when she first saw the Wyvern was one of anger, but also one of planning. Summer was up to something.</p>
<p>Blending was done. He removed the vial of mixed Dust, loaded two more and started it up.</p>
<p>Glynda, to no one's surprise, passed out as soon as the two of them showed up. Summer had instantly been bombarded with questions as soon as the other teachers heard the news, but Taiyang managed to beat them off. Once it was clear this wasn't a trick (and Glynda had woken up), they found themselves at the city's only surviving bar to celebrate her return. And nobody got black-out drunk for once.</p>
<p>The big guy who ran the bar, who everyone called 'Junior,' seemed a bit shady but otherwise happy to have the business. Tai had to steer clear of the twins who worked there; he didn't want to incur the wrath of a jealous and tipsy wife.</p>
<p>Second batch was done. Next up was a three-part mixture-</p>
<p>"<em>Um… excuse me?"</em></p>
<p>One vial of Fire Dust (!) slipped in his hands, but Taiyang recovered before it spilled even one granule. Whew. After he calmed his pounding heart, he looked over and found a woman standing at the open door of the old shop.</p>
<p>A woman who could be best described as 'falling out of her clothes.'</p>
<p>
  <em>Damn.</em>
</p>
<p>Once he tore his gaze away from the woman's blouse – or what was left of it – Taiyang found himself staring at a pair of amazingly deep blue eyes set beneath a head of smooth, flowing black hair. Her candy lips were curled in a smile that just barely reached her eyes. She wore common clothes, nothing fancy, but… it seemed she had an aversion to buttons. And zippers. And skirts that actually covered the entire thigh.</p>
<p>Did he spill some Fire Dust after all? It was suddenly getting hot…</p>
<p>"Eyes up here, Shaggy."</p>
<p>Taiyang damn near dropped the vial again before he sputtered and coughed something close to an apology. He quickly put his mind back on his work long enough to get the next few vials loaded into the Blender and pressed the button.</p>
<p>Stepping back, he cleared his throat and said, as professionally as possible, "Sorry about that, Ma'am. The shop's closed right now-"</p>
<p>"Actually, I'm looking for someone," the woman cut him off with a calm but firm tone of voice. She crossed her arms under her… chest… which only served to lift her… assets… back into view. "Do you know where I can find a man named Taiyang Xiao Long? I heard he was in town."</p>
<p>"I… uh… well…" Words refused to form in his brain with those twin balloons demanding his full attention. They were easily twice the size of Summer's. "I… I think… <em>I'm</em> Taiyang."</p>
<p>"You 'think' you are?"</p>
<p>"Last I checked… yeah."</p>
<p>The woman giggled, her chest vibrated, and Taiyang felt an unwanted reaction happening somewhere down south. <em>I'm a married man, I'm a married man, I'm a married man…</em></p>
<p>"Well in that case…" the woman sauntered her way around the counter, her melons getting there a few minutes ahead of the rest of her. "Can I ask you a few questions?"</p>
<p>She gave Taiyang an grand view of her flawless skin by sliding one of her legs out from underneath her sad excuse for a skirt.</p>
<p>Her bottom lip jutted out far enough to trip over. <em>"…Pretty please?"</em></p>
<p>"…"</p>
<p>Hi, this is Taiyang's rational mind. He can't talk right now, so please leave a message and he'll get back to you as soon as his brain has enough blood to function properly; it's currently diverted to another source.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>He remembered nothing else until after the woman was gone.</p>
<p>All he knew for certain was that his lips tingled, he was out of breath, his shirt was partly unbuttoned, and his belt had been loosened by one belt loop. Half an hour had passed without him even noticing.</p>
<p>Oddly enough, his other vials of Dust were correctly mixed by the time he came to his senses. When did he do that?</p>
<p>More importantly… where did that woman disappear to?</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … … … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p><em>Well that was far easier than expected,</em> Emmya Tremaine thought to herself as she strode down the street.</p>
<p>She twirled her Scroll in her hand as she made her way to the library. Beacon may have moved in, but they couldn't very well stop normal civilians from using public facilities. And that's all she was… a 'normal civilian.'</p>
<p>Yeah, and did you hear the one about the tortoise over in Vacuo that learned how to fly?</p>
<p>Subtle Suggestion was a powerful tool against the weak-minded, and Emmya made sure to use every trick in the book to make it even more potent. Men were the easiest to manipulate – show a bit of skin and they immediately regress into cavemen. Stick out your bottom lip and they'd be all too happy to give up the access codes to the local CCT network.</p>
<p>It was too bad they were in such an open storefront. It had been quite a while since her last fling, and she was getting… antsy. With a bit more cover, she would have probably gone all the way – the man seemed eager enough – but alas, it was not to be. Shame.</p>
<p>And besides, she was on a tight schedule. She needed information, and now she had the access.</p>
<p><em>Had fun, saved myself a few steps AND it should make Master happy, </em>she thought as she went inside. <em>And as long as he's happy, he won't send me off on any more of these damn fetch quests. What a pain in the ass…</em></p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … … … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The next day, Summer and Taiyang were ready to depart.</p>
<p>They stood outside the city library. Glynda handed Summer's Scroll back to her, along with a small bundle of Lien. "I've uploaded the necessary reports to help fill in the gaps, along with access codes to both Haven and Atlas' CCT network, if you should need them."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Professor."</p>
<p>"And I confirmed what we discussed yesterday – there is no file on Dr. Chianti in Vale's server. I did find a few reports from the time period you mentioned, and have included those as well. It should give you a starting point, if nothing else."</p>
<p>Taiyang walked over with raised eyebrows, clearly wondering what they were talking about. Summer said, "Apparently the guy I was after… Dr. Chianti, the Time Machine guy… survived the encounter and was taken to Lushu after his arrest. If we're lucky, he <em>might</em> still be there. Professor Goodwitch has agreed to charter a flight for us to go straight there and-"</p>
<p>"What about Haven? Meeting up with the girls?"</p>
<p>Summer's stomach completely flipped over. "W-We can… head there afterwards. B-Besides… I still need to find the full report on what happened. Since the incident occurred in Mistral, that file will be in Haven's system."</p>
<p>Taiyang nodded, either not noticing his wife's distress or carefully ignoring it. "I guess that's not so bad. Like a little vacation; Lushu is a big place and it happens to be good with tourists."</p>
<p>A pair of voices spoke up from behind them, chortling at the scene. "Of course it helps to think of it as a honeymoon… though it's easy to imagine what <em>he'll</em> be looking at, eh Peter?"</p>
<p>"Indeed it is, Bart… a town like that is notorious for… <em>other</em> attractions, is it not?"</p>
<p>"Like skirts that ride a bit too high on the leg?"</p>
<p>"Or blouses that leave nothing to the imagination?"</p>
<p>"This <em>IS </em>the infamous Taiyang Xiao Long we're talking about, after all…"</p>
<p>"Now, <em>now,</em> Bart… not when his <em>wife</em> is standing right there…"</p>
<p>The pair of Professors stood to one side, laughing as they watched Taiyang flail for a bit, but Summer could read her husband's face with little difficulty. He could deny it all he wanted, but the man was as guilty as a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.</p>
<p>She had to smile. After all these years, Taiyang hadn't grown up a bit.</p>
<p>Glynda quietly pulled Summer's attention back, saying, "As I mentioned last night, Professor Ozpin is still out there somewhere. The odds are good that either Qrow or James can help you find him."</p>
<p>"James?"</p>
<p>"Ironwood. He's the General of Atlas now."</p>
<p>"Oh, him! Good to know he's moved up from Major. How's he been doing?"</p>
<p>"After everything that went down last year… not good. Nobody really trusts Atlas anymore, and he's taking the lion's share of the blame."</p>
<p>"…Do you think he'll talk to me if I go see him?"</p>
<p>"Miss Rose, I don't think <em>anyone</em> on Remnant would refuse to see you right now. As for Qrow… I tracked the signal from his Scroll to Haven Academy. I called them an hour ago, and according to a secretary at the school, he and the students he was escorting just arrived this morning."</p>
<p>"The students… that includes my Ruby?"</p>
<p>"Indeed. I was told that Qrow suffered some severe injuries and is on bed rest, but the rest of the kids are fine. Apparently they had to fight a powerful Grimm before they made it to the school."</p>
<p>Summer chuckled. "That sounds like my daughter. Can't keep herself out of trouble."</p>
<p>Glynda chuckled as well. "If you only knew the whole story…" A moment passed without any words. Glynda leaned in and gave her an awkward hug, muttering, "It's so good to have you back Summer."</p>
<p>"It… It's good to <em>be</em> back," she said.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>Several minutes later, Summer and Taiyang were at the airship dock with their few belongings, ready to step in and take off. Zwei, who had no intention of being left at home by himself, wagged his stubby tail by their feet as everyone said their goodbyes. Glynda and the other teachers had gathered to see them off, but one more face stepped forward first…</p>
<p>"Hey there, lover boy," said a very… <em>voluptuous </em>woman as she marched right up to Taiyang, hips swaying with each step. Her voice carried a playful growl. "Leaving without saying goodbye?"</p>
<p>Summer was ready to dismiss this woman as unimportant, a passing fancy, but then she glanced over at Tai. The look that had come over her husband's face resembled a fish that had been yanked out of the water, lips gaping open and struggling to catch a breath.</p>
<p>One of Summer's eyes started twitching.</p>
<p>The woman ignored Summer as she placed herself completely inside Taiyang's comfort zone, pressing her boobs up against his chest as he turned purple. She draped her arms over his shoulders and leaned close, breathing into his face. To his credit, Tai <em>did</em> actually try to speak, but his mouth had gone full derp. And his eyes seemed broken… he couldn't look <em>up</em> at her face.</p>
<p>The twitch got stronger, pulling up the side of her mouth.</p>
<p>Voices from the side indicated that the teachers were also watching the scene, most of them disapproving (though Port's mustache was bent in a very <em>smiling</em> way). Glynda actually had her riding crop in her hand, her face dark.</p>
<p>Finally realizing she had an audience, the strange woman stepped back and looked around with what could only be feigned ignorance. "Oh dear… did I interrupt something? My apologies, deary."</p>
<p>"<em>Oh… it's no trouble," </em>Summer's mouth said without any conscious input. Her vision shifted slightly as the twitch forced her neck to spasm.</p>
<p>"Well that's good to know," the woman replied. "I'd hate to think I was getting between a <em>married couple</em> or something."</p>
<p>"<em>I AM MARRIED!" </em>Taiyang finally managed to bark, startling everyone present.</p>
<p>The woman barely missed a beat. "Actually, Shaggy… I snuck a look at your files. In legal terms, <em>you're single.</em> Huntsman Widower Procedures." In simple terms, this means that five years after a spouse is declared missing or dead, marital status automatically reverts for the remaining member of the couple. Saves on paperwork for couples that don't last through particularly dangerous missions.</p>
<p>Ignoring the fact that this woman had somehow managed a look at classified information, what she had to say was… more than a little jarring. Even Summer's twitch stopped to reflect on it. She hadn't considered that detail before now. It had been 12 years, which is a lot more than 5.</p>
<p>"You, my hairy man, <em>are on the market." </em>The woman actually licked her lips at that last part.</p>
<p>Somehow, while Summer wasn't paying attention, her swords left their strap all on their own and jumped into her hands. Even her feet got in on the act and made her jump in between her husband and the woman who seemed intent to take him away.</p>
<p>And she was growling. Summer never growled.</p>
<p>"Seems I pushed a bit <em>too</em> far," the mysterious woman said, more to herself than for anyone else. "Sorry, sorry… I'll stop."</p>
<p>"…" Summer glared silently.</p>
<p>As the woman turned to walk away, she leaned back and said, "By the way… thanks for showing me a good time… <em>Tai."</em> She blew him a kiss and walked away.</p>
<p>The handles of Agni and Varuna groaned in pain as Summer's grip tightened to inhuman levels. Her head turned slowly, neck creaking like a rusty hinge, as she looked upon her loving, faithful husband and the father of her two children. A man who was sweating bullets.</p>
<p>"In… In my defense… I was left unsupervised," he said in a shaky voice.</p>
<p>Zwei gave an indignant <em>bork</em> from ground level.</p>
<p>Summer Rose never considered herself a jealous woman. Up until now, she really had no reason to. Up until now, Tai had never allowed anyone to flirt with him so openly (other than herself). He would usually escape or beat them off with a stick. The man had assured her just after their marriage that his womanizing days were over (Qrow had a hearty laugh when he heard about <em>that).</em></p>
<p>But he let that woman hang all over him. And based on what she said, he'd not only allowed it… but they may have gone even further.</p>
<p>And that made Summer feel… unpleasant.</p>
<p>They were going to have a very <em>long</em> talk before they landed at Lushu. And if he was lucky, he <em>might</em> still be alive when they got there.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p>
<p>… … …</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <em>June 29th, 4-81 — Lushu</em>
</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>"You… are not the man I'm supposed to be meeting."</p>
<p>"Dr. Rory, my father sends his regards and his deepest regret that he cannot honor the Oldoak Contract. He has sent me in his stead."</p>
<p>"Your father…? I see. I didn't realize <em>you </em>were his son."</p>
<p>"Oliver Oldoak VII, at your service."</p>
<p>"The <em>seventh…</em> sheesh. I forgot how you people like your lineage names. So is your old man feeling okay? Should I come out and see him?"</p>
<p>"…I'm going to drop the formalities for a moment, sir; Pops told me that if he laid eyes on you one more time, he'd gladly use up his Ghost to take both you and himself down together."</p>
<p>"HA! Now <em>that</em> sounds more like the man I knew. And… I take it by how you're sitting while looking <em>away from me</em> that-"</p>
<p>"Yes, he told me <em>all about you,</em> Dr. Rory. You'll forgive me if I don't meet your gaze."</p>
<p>"He figured out the trick. That man is smarter than I gave him credit for. Very well… if you're really the son of the Oldoak family, then you will possess the skills needed for a… job. I assume you do?"</p>
<p>"… … …I am able to use the Ghost, yes."</p>
<p>"How do I know you're telling the truth if you won't look at me?"</p>
<p>"Don't bother, Dr. Rory. I won't look and I have no reason to lie."</p>
<p>"And how do you know I'm not holding a gun to your head right now?"</p>
<p>"Simple… we're sitting in a five-star sushi restaurant in the Upper City. They have a strict no-weapons policy up here."</p>
<p>"Observant. And smarter than your old man was when we first met. I'm officially impressed."</p>
<p>"Is there something <em>specific </em>you needed me for, or are we just here to shoot the breeze?"</p>
<p>"There is a woman scheduled to arrive here in less than an hour, dock #4. According to my contact, she's traveling with a blonde man and a dog. She and the man are both experienced Huntsman. I don't care what you do about the man, but I want that woman <em>dead."</em></p>
<p>"Personal grudge?"</p>
<p>"Does that matter?"</p>
<p>"I suppose not. And as this falls within the terms of the Contract, I can't really argue. Time frame?"</p>
<p>"As soon as you can manage. Although… <em>maybe </em>give the happy couple a day or two to enjoy themselves before you make your move. But make no mistake… … … <em>Summer Rose cannot be allowed to leave this city alive!"</em></p>
<p>"…"</p>
<p>"Oh… and don't harm the dog."</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^</strong>
  <strong>ω^)</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, I'm making a bunch of new OCs. Yes, there are even more on the way. No, I'm not sorry.</p>
<p>This part of the story may feel a bit meandering, but just know that there is a reason for this; I really want to get to the end before the story grows stale. I don't have a detailed plan laid out in my head, so a lot of this is gonna be just… whatever I think can of. As long as I'm having fun writing it, I'll keep putting it out.</p>
<p>(As a side note, the day after I post this chapter is when the last episode of volume 8 becomes free to watch online. In other words, I'll be busy for a few hours.)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"Why does the third of the three brothers, who shares his food with the old woman in the wood, go on to become king of the country? Why does James Bond manage to disarm the nuclear bomb a few seconds before it goes off rather than, as it were, a few seconds afterwards? Because a universe where that did not happen would be a dark and hostile place. Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain."</p><p>-Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard</p><p>…</p><p>So I watched volume 8 of RWBY, beginning to end, last weekend. If there was supposed to be any hope in there, I completely missed it. In my personal opinion, this volume skirted dangerously close to grimdark. I hate grimdark.</p><p>Now… I don't know how many of you liked the recent season of RWBY – props to you if you did – but I'm respectfully requesting that everyone who reads this little note just… please do not bring up anything about vol.8 in the comments. I don't wanna talk about it. At all. These few lines are all I have to say on the subject, and I just want to move on.</p><p>*deep breath*</p><p>Okay… now that that's out of the way, let's get to the story.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>Strangers</strong>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>June 29th, 4-81 — Lushu</em>
</p><p>…</p><p>Some people called Lushu 'the Argus of the South.'</p><p>Those people hadn't actually <em>been </em>to Argus.</p><p>For those who don't know, the town of Argus is a big cluster of buildings that sits on the northern coastline of Anima; it's the single biggest port city between Mistral and Atlas. This is very evident by the combination of Mistralian architecture and Atlesian technology; the people there live in relatively high comfort. The city itself sits behind a well-fortified wall on its south edge and a very secure shield system in the waters to the north, making sure it was safe from the Grimm no matter which way they approached.</p><p>The only thing it had in common with Lushu was the continent it sat on. Beyond that, the cities were completely different.</p><p>If anything, Lushu more closely resembled Atlas itself.</p><p>The city of Lushu sat on Anima's southern shore – obviously – and served as the primary port of call for the island of Menagerie. In fact, on clear days the island itself was visible to the naked eye from the Upper City. Where Argus was a combination of two kingdoms, Lushu was entirely Mistralian; everything from the architecture to the surrounding landscape reflected the unique culture of the people that called the Kingdom of Mistral home.</p><p>The most distinctive feature of Lushu was also the most controversial; known commonly as the Upper City, half of Lushu sat atop a wide plateau of rock that loomed hundreds of feet over the rest of area like a sentinel. This region of the continent had a lot of plateaus like this one, but the Upper City claimed the largest. This is where the rich and powerful of Mistral came to play. This is where they chose to relax… all while lording it over the residents of the Lower City. This is also where Xiwang Academy resided, a prep school similar to Pharos that trained up-and-coming Huntsmen before sending them off to one of the Big Four.</p><p>There were only 2 ways to reach the Upper City: you either had to fly there (which cost a lot of Lien due to hazardous wind conditions) or you climbed a grandiose stairway built into the rock itself. The use of this staircase was heavily restricted by the residents of the Upper City, who charged a hefty fee to anyone who wanted to come up it. As a result, it was almost as expensive to walk up as it was to fly up. Nearly every major clan in Lushu had a different name for the staircase, but most folks of the Lower City just called it the Ladder.</p><p>Comparatively defenseless, the Lower City was home to the working-class people of Lushu; fishermen, dock workers, laborers, craftsmen, and everyone who didn't fancy living in what they lovingly referred to as an ivory tower (among other, far less polite names). They were the realists, the survivors. The Lower City didn't have any defensive wall around its border, nor did it have powerful shields to defend the docks; instead it had dense, unforgiving jungles and a narrow opening into the bay through hazardous rocks. Grimm still made it through these barriers on occasion, but the people of the Lower City were no pushovers; they were used to the odd skirmish or two. In a way, the Lower City was a town filled with trainee Huntsmen.</p><p>It made sense that a place like this could produce the Xiao Long family. Summer let her gaze sweep the Lower City as their ship flew overhead, vaguely wondering where his old family home might've sat.</p><p>Tai had mentioned in the past that this was the town he was born in, but he'd never really gone into detail about it. Apparently his family fled the city shortly after that day, moving all the way to Patch where he'd later grown up. Summer never bothered pressing him for information. Arriving in the city of Lushu may have technically been a homecoming for him, but both of them were essentially strangers in this land.</p><p>Once the ship landed, Summer and Taiyang stepped out holding each other's hands. He gave hers a comforting squeeze as they made their way towards the customs office.</p><p>Before they climbed on the ship, Summer had been furious at him. After their talk, she was now furious at <em>herself</em> for overreacting.</p><p>But could you blame her? It hadn't been that long ago that Taiyang held a reputation as a ladykiller, a man whose arms women regularly <em>threw</em> themselves into (Summer and Raven had been among them at one point). The notion that it had happened again was far too easy to believe.</p><p>However, the story he told made her stop and think. The way his mind faded in and out <em>could</em> have simply been due to the woman's outrageous appearance, but to Summer it sounded… suspicious. Almost like there was a Semblance at work. There was no way to be certain unless they encountered that woman again and confronted her, but for now it was enough to know that Tai had no control over the situation. If anything, <em>he</em> was the victim. She had absolutely no right to be mad at him. They had kissed and made up just before they crossed over into Anima airspace.</p><p>In the end, what mattered was that Taiyang <em>hadn't </em>tried to cheat on his… wife.</p><p>No, she was just plain old Summer Rose now. And that was the thing that bothered her the most.</p><p>Legally speaking, Tai <em>was </em>actually single now; Summer technically had no claim on him anymore. During the flight, the man had assured her that this didn't matter – if anything, it was a chance to get married all over again. They had both been thrilled at the idea and he eagerly considered where they could find a temple or chapel to get it done… but then she'd taken time to calmly think it over before they landed.</p><p>And suddenly it <em>didn't</em> seem like the greatest idea in the world.</p><p>That scared her almost as much as the thought of meeting up with Ruby and Yang again.</p><p>A roar of engine noise pulled her thoughts back to reality as Summer looked back at their transport. The pilot had suddenly kicked the engine into high gear and took off before they'd even cleared the launch pad, clearly yelling into his headset through the windshield. He seemed to be in a hurry.</p><p>In fact… with him now gone, the entire airship dock was empty.</p><p>"Well it's the strangest thing," a round-faced man said when they asked him about this. According to his patterned vest, he was the local Dockmaster. "About a week ago, three or four whole <em>boatloads</em> of Faunus just showed up from the island. Said they all needed to get up to Haven Academy. 'Right now' they said. Took all the ships I had, all at once, and now I'm kinda stretched thin. I got other customers who need that transportation, ya know."</p><p>"Haven?" Taiyang seemed confused by that. "Did they say why?"</p><p>"Nah, but they all had the look of people who were ready to fight to the death. I didn't dare stand up to a group like <em>that,</em> let me tell ya. And besides, they paid for the ships. I couldn't say nothin'."</p><p>Summer looked around again and sighed. "I guess that means we're stuck here a while." Zwei gave a whine from her feet.</p><p>The man smiled. "Well… we still got a few regular ol' rowboats if you <em>absolutely</em> can't wait around for 'em to come back. Cheaper, too. Only drawback is the trip takes a lot longer to get anywhere."</p><p>Taiyang smiled as well, although it was more of a smirk. "'Only' drawback? Are the Creatures of Grimm taking a vacation, too?"</p><p>"<em>Naaah…" </em>One chubby hand waved dismissively. "There's always Grimm. But I know a Huntsman when I sees 'em. In my experience with you people, Grimm attacks are often more of a <em>perk</em> than a drawback. Yer all crazy bastards."</p><p>While Taiyang and the Dockmaster continued shooting the breeze for a few minutes, Summer picked up Zwei and let her mind wander back to her previous thoughts. About herself and Tai. About their potential future.</p><p>Things <em>had</em> changed while she was gone. It was more than just the Grimm destroying her old home, more than just her children growing up and moving on without her… it was everything. Everyone.</p><p>Just twelve years. In such a short time, the entire <em>world</em> had moved on without her.</p><p>… Could she really say she still had a place in it?</p><p>…<br/>
…</p><p>"I think you're worrying too much," Tai said between bites. "Although… that's kinda what you <em>always</em> do, isn't it?"</p><p>Summer smiled but didn't reply. Her own food was barely touched.</p><p>They sat at an outdoor dining area near their hotel. It was a lovely neighborhood; paper lanterns illuminated the wide cobblestone roads with dim orange light that complimented the warm tones of the sunset sky. Tai had ordered them each a steak dinner, but Summer soon found that she didn't have much of an appetite. Too many things on her mind.</p><p>One of those things being a brand-new silver ring on her finger. Tai had a matching one on his own hand. He'd bought them about an hour ago to serve as impromptu promise rings – kind of like an engagement ring, but without all the pomp and circumstance. He seemed dead set on getting things back to normal for the two of them, and this was a logical first step; Tai still had their old rings locked away back at the house for safekeeping.</p><p>"If you're worried about the marriage thing, I said it before; we can find a chapel in town and get it done while we're here," Tai said.</p><p>"I know," Summer said. "But… it's not that simple."</p><p>"Sure it is."</p><p>"Tai…" Summer stared at him for a few moments, making sure he understood how serious she was trying to be. "Can you honestly say you <em>want</em> to… marry me again? Can you look me in the eyes and tell me… truthfully… that you <em>aren't</em> just trying to make me feel better?"</p><p>To his credit, Taiyang actually put his fork down before speaking. "Summer Rose, as far as I'm concerned, <em>we are still married. </em>I don't care if it was 12 years, 12 days or 12 minutes… you are still my wife. If all I have to do is sign a few papers and say 'I do' one more time to get the world off our backs, then I will <em>gladly</em> do it."</p><p>Summer sighed and took another bite. The man didn't get it. He didn't understand what she meant, and there was a good chance he never would. If he was only agreeing to it because <em>Summer</em> wanted to do it, then that meant she was essentially <em>forcing</em> him to do it. Unless the man himself wanted it for his own sake, then it wouldn't mean anything. If he didn't want to marry her more than she <em>wanted</em> him to marry her, then it wouldn't be special.</p><p>Thinking back, that only made sense – Taiyang was never much for deep thinking or problem solving. If he couldn't punch it, kick it or otherwise break it, he usually backed off and let either Summer or one of the Branwens take care of it. A man like Tai needed the information presented directly to him, in a way he could not mistake for something else.</p><p>But not tonight. She was too tired.</p><p>"<em>I knew it…" </em>a feminine voice suddenly hissed from behind her. <em>"I would know that hair of yours anywhere."</em></p><p>Summer turned to see who was speaking… only to find a face ripped straight out of the past. A face from the 30th Vytal Festival Tournament, to be exact.</p><p>"Jasmine? Is that you?"</p><p>Long black hair that reached the back of her knees, a brown and black ensemble of blouse and trousers, and a sash-and-scarf combo that featured bright tiger-stripe patterns in sharp contrast to the rest of her appearance – this was Jasmine Corbett, former member of team BRCH (birch) who was defeated by Summer and her team in the first round of said tournament all those years ago.</p><p>"Who else would it be, foolish woman?" Jasmine walked over to their table with purpose, her flame-colored eyes blazing. She was not smiling. "Summer Rose, was it not?"</p><p>"That's me."</p><p>"I suspected as much when I saw your cloak hanging by the door," the woman said as she crossed her arms. "That, along with your bladed toothpicks, pretty much gave you away."</p><p>"You're not still upset about losing to team STRQ, are you?"</p><p>Jasmine scoffed. "Why would I continue holding a grudge after so long? Just because you won by… dishonorable methods… does not mean I cannot let it go and move on."</p><p>Summer and Tai shared a brief look. Yep, she was still sore.</p><p>"And besides, if I was to blame anybody, it would be your partner. He is the only man who ever caused me to… to… <em>MISS."</em> The last word came out as a snarl. She had to pause for a moment to calm down. "Tell me… where might I find Qrow Branwen? Is he not traveling with you?"</p><p>Summer gave a shrug. "Haven't seen him for a long time."</p><p>Jasmine darted her eyes away and growled, a low sound in her throat that made a few people sitting nearby flinch. One or two of them decided now was the time to leave.</p><p>"So… Professor Corbett… what are you doing out here?" Taiyang spoke up next before Summer could continue.</p><p>Wait… Professor?</p><p>"Oh… Mr. Xiao Long. I did not see you there."</p><p>"Please, we're not at work. Just 'Tai' is fine."</p><p>"Then simply 'Jasmine' will do for me. I wish I could say I was on vacation, but… I do not know for certain. Headmaster Lionheart sent everyone away from the school very suddenly last week. I know we are between classes right now, but this is still very strange to me."</p><p>Last week? That lined up with the arrival of the Faunus here, but was still days before Qrow and the kids got into the city.</p><p>Taiyang said, "Is Leo in trouble?"</p><p>Jasmine took a moment to pull an empty chair over to their table and sit down, crossing long legs that ended in high-heeled boots. "If he is not, then he <em>will be</em> by the time I return. I swear I am always cleaning up after that man."</p><p>"What about the other teachers? Are they here, or-"</p><p>"Everyone went to their own homes," Jasmine cut him off. "Since I call this place my home, I am here… though I do not wish to be. Something is amiss at Haven Academy, and I <em>need</em> to be there… but I cannot stand against the headmaster's order."</p><p>"Well," Taiyang said after quickly chewing another bite of his steak. "Me and Summer are heading to Haven in a day or two. We can check up on things while we're there and let you know what's up."</p><p>"Headmaster Lionheart-"</p><p>"-Told the staff and students <em>of Haven</em> to stay home. Not us."</p><p>Jasmine sighed but finally smiled, and for once it looked genuine. "You Valish are much more…<em> cunning </em>than I am used to dealing with. Very well, I shall accept your offer."</p><p>Summer raised her hand like a student, then said, "Um… forgive me if I sound silly, but… he called you a Professor…?"</p><p>Before she could reply, Taiyang cut in, "She hired on at Haven right after graduating, then earned a proper teaching license a year or so later. 'Professor' Corbett works as a combat instructor and also serves as Headmaster Lionheart's personal assistant."</p><p>Summer blinked.</p><p>"She's… uh… the Glynda Goodwitch of Haven Academy."</p><p>"<em>Oh! </em>I guess that makes more sense."</p><p>Professor Corbett – <em>wow</em> that sounded weird – rolled her eyes as the group shared a quiet giggle. Summer resumed eating, her spirits lifted ever so slightly by the appearance of this woman from the past. It was a much-needed moment of levity. Learning that the woman had risen to such a high position was also nice.</p><p>Several minutes passed as Summer and Taiyang ate while Jasmine took the opportunity to check her Scroll for messages. Once finished, she said, "Taiyang, do you have a few minutes to speak? I wish to discuss a few things. As fellow teachers."</p><p>"Oh… sure, yeah. I'm just finishing up." Tai scarfed his last few bites then stood, darted over and gave Summer a peck on the lips. "I'll meet you back at the hotel room, sweetheart. Take your time and relax. I'll go ahead and pay the tab on the way out-"</p><p>Jasmine cut him off with a raised hand. "Actually, I shall cover your bill tonight. Consider it a favor."</p><p>The pair of teachers walked away, still chatting amicably among themselves. Summer watched them go… and felt her mood dip further and further until they rounded a corner and vanished.</p><p>Suddenly she'd lost her appetite. The simple band of silver on her hand now felt like a dead weight.</p><p>"…"</p><p>Well… at least <em>Zwei</em> would still be happy to see her.</p><p>…</p><p>… … … … …</p><p>…</p><p>"So… you say your wife was… <em>sent forward</em> in time? And that was the reason she was missing for so long?"</p><p>"It's hard to swallow, I know. I didn't believe it at first, either… but she hasn't aged a day. I know my wife's face, and that was unmistakably her."</p><p>"I will not deny your feelings, but have you considered the possibility of foul play? That this woman might be an impostor?"</p><p>"I did for a second when she first appeared, but there's no way a fake would behave the way she does… do the things she does… have her spirit, her purity. If anyone could fake that, they could fool the gods themselves."</p><p>"I… have heard tales of such people, Taiyang. Tricksters of uncanny skill. But if you believe in this woman so strongly, then I shall not raise any accusations. I admit I had my doubts; I found it odd that she barely looked older than the day you all defeated my team at the Tournament."</p><p>"So you <em>are</em> still sore."</p><p>*sigh* "Foolish man. If I admit that I am, will you stop bringing it up?"</p><p>"Sorry, sorry… it was just a bit of fun. I'll be good."</p><p>"'Good'…? I see the way your gaze falls upon me, Xiao Long. I wonder about your <em>true</em> intentions…"</p><p>"I… uh… I'm sorry."</p><p>"…"</p><p>"You know… um… I should go-"</p><p>"Taiyang… I apologize if I have said something untoward. I meant no offense."</p><p>"No, it's not you. Something fishy kinda happened back at Vale, and now I'm just kinda wary. I <em>really</em> don't want my wife mad at me again."</p><p>"…You <em>do</em> know she is not legally married to you, right? After 5 years, the Huntsman Widower Procedures-"</p><p>"<em>I don't give a damn about all that legal crap.</em> Summer Rose is my wife. End of story."</p><p>"Mmm… your loyalty is admirable. It must be rewarded. Come… allow me to buy you a drink."</p><p>"I really shouldn't…"</p><p>"Tai… what was it you said to your woman? <em>Take your time and relax</em>…? I believe you should heed your own advice."</p><p>"Fine. Just one."</p><p>…</p><p>… … …</p><p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p><p>… … …</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em>September 21st, 4-59 — Haven Academy</em>
</p><p>…</p><p>"So you're the team they sent over from Beacon, eh?"</p><p>Taiyang stood next to his teammates as they met their companions for this mission, a group from Haven Academy that also featured third-years. Their mission was simple, but it required extra hands – and the headmasters of both schools decided to join forces in an effort to improve relations as well as finish the mission in question. It had something to do with defending a border town in Mistral while they constructed an outer wall for defense, but Summer handled the finer details. That was part of her job as leader.</p><p>Qrow and Raven were also there, naturally, and despite their placid attitudes Taiyang knew both of them were eager to test out their new weapons. When they joined Beacon, both twins bore simple swords with only minor ranged capabilities. After a few years with Professor Mulberry, however, they now had much more state-of-the-art blades. Qrow fingered the mechanism in the hilt of Harbinger, his own sword, as they were introduced to this new team. Raven absently adjusted Omen at her hip, unwilling to leave it alone. Small signs… but if you knew what to look for, it was clear the siblings were anxious to kill something.</p><p>As long as it wasn't <em>him, </em>Taiyang personally had no problem letting them run wild.</p><p>Taiyang also adjusted his own bracelet – dubbed Wu Xing – as Summer finished giving out their names. He was also eager, but nervous. Neither he nor Summer had perfected the mixtures yet. This mission was as much a test run for Wu Xing as it was defending a town of civilians.</p><p>"I'm Beau Brumby, the leader of our little squad," said the young man who had done all the talking so far. There was a good chance this guy was regularly mistaken for a girl when seen from the back – his light brown hair flowed down well past his shoulderblades and he had a slim build. He gestured to the people next to him, rattling off names. "This here is Rojo Retuerta, Jasmine Corbett, and Hunter Holsteiner. Team BRCH." In order, he pointed at a shorter guy with slick black hair and the early signs of a stubble beard, a tall woman with blazing orange eyes, and a blonde young man with a very wide and very square jaw. <em>Very</em> square. Wow. That jaw could get stuck in a narrow doorway if he wasn't careful.</p><p>"Pleasure to meet you all," Summer bowed respectfully, not even bothering to check that her teammates did the same. Taiyang gave a half-hearted bow, but the twins didn't even try. What a shock. Summer continued, "I look forward to working with you all, and… I hope you guys have a lot of patience."</p><p>Both Summer and Taiyang darted a look at their respective partners, both of whom looked away in a huff.</p><p>"No worries," Beau said enthusiastically. "If your mates aren't at least twice the trouble of ol' Rojo here," he gave his shorter companion a hearty slap on the back, "…then we won't have any problems, will we boys?"</p><p>Rojo simply snorted, but he <em>was</em> grinning. And his eyes betrayed him; they were locked onto Summer. And not her face, either.</p><p>Taiyang tightened his fist.</p><p>He and Summer were not partners. At least, not in the matter of Beacon's curriculum. What they <em>were</em> was… complicated. It was obvious there were feelings between them, and had been since year 1, but… neither of them had come out and said it yet. While they may have barely been halfway through their training, Taiyang couldn't help but feel like he was running out of time.</p><p>Someone mentioned that their transport wasn't due to depart for about half an hour, so the two teams just meandered for a while. Beau and Summer broke off to discuss Leadership Things™ together, but everyone else stayed with their own team. Hunter and Rojo stood off to one side keeping an eye on everyone (the latter still eyeing Summer herself, much to Tai's growing annoyance), while Qrow and Raven kept to the opposite corner and tried to look as cool and aloof as possible.</p><p>Wait… wasn't there one more on team BRCH…?</p><p>"You should really keep a better watch over your surroundings," said a lithe, feminine voice directly behind him. Taiyang felt his skin crawl in a way that it never had before. A fingernail brushed the back of his neck. "Or someone might… get the drop on you."</p><p>Taiyang couldn't help but smile as he turned to face the young woman who stood a few inches taller than himself. "Are you threatening me with a good time?"</p><p>For just an instant, Tai felt a chilling spike of anger shoot towards him from the direction of where Summer was standing. But no one was watching him. Odd.</p><p>Jasmine was stunning at first sight, but up close she was more… subdued. After the novelty of her startling eyes had worn off, he could see that this young woman still had a fair amount of growing to do before she reached her prime. That wasn't to say she was plain – far from it – but she held more <em>potential</em> than actual beauty.</p><p>"I sense that you are thinking bad things about me," Jasmine said, eyes narrowing. "You have the same aura as Rojo. I do not like it."</p><p>"Aura? You can <em>sense Aura?</em> I thought that was an advanced technique-"</p><p>"Of course not, foolish man! I meant the <em>subtle</em> aura, the feeling that emanates off of you. I can sense when a man is thinking impure thoughts about a woman. A skill taught to me by my mother."</p><p>Taiyang took an unconscious half-step backward.</p><p>"Fear not, for it is not a skill that suits me in the field of battle. I do not stalk my prey by reading… <em>perverse intentions."</em> The young woman bumped a strap on her shoulder, making the large hunting rifle on her back sway a bit. "Be grateful for that."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," Taiyang said nervously.</p><p>The mission that followed was mostly uneventful, though the combined groups did have a few battles with the Creatures of Grimm during their time together. For Taiyang, watching Jasmine fight was the most memorable part of the mission – her Semblance allowed her to hit her target every single time she fired her gun, no matter how far away she was. The woman may have been pure long-range support, but her uncanny skill and the efforts of the rest of her team balanced each other out quite well. No Grimm escaped from team BRCH.</p><p>Team STRQ, on the other hand, still had a long way to go. After the embarrassment of their first-round loss at last year's Vytal Festival Tournament, Summer had started putting them through some hardcore combat training every week since. Professor Goodwitch was more than happy to help out, of course.</p><p>They may have improved since then, but watching team BRCH work together had driven home just how much farther they still had to grow. Summer, Taiyang, Raven and Qrow were still just four Huntsman trainees fighting on the same side. They weren't a <em>team</em> yet.</p><p>That particular turning point would come later in the year.</p><p>…</p><p>… … …</p><p>_/_/_/_/_/_/_/</p><p>… … …</p><p>…</p><p>
  <em>July 1st, 4-81 — Lushu</em>
</p><p>…</p><p>Taiyang sat for a moment as the thin man before him shuffled through his files, pulling out a few papers seemingly at random. He wished Summer could've come along, but fees for the Ladder had skyrocketed; they could only afford for one of them to reach the Upper City during this visit.</p><p>And since he was a teacher, Taiyang had the advantage; Xiwang Academy doubled as the town's City Hall, meaning they kept all official documents on campus. The information Summer needed would be there, and Tai would have an easier time getting to it.</p><p>If they hadn't brought Zwei along to keep her company, Taiyang would've called it off and stayed below. He hated seeing her so depressed.</p><p>"Sorry for the wait, Mr. Xiao Long," said the thin man. "But I have what you wanted right here. According to records, Dr. Chianti was held for a few years and released into an assisted living facility." The man slid the papers forward across the desk. He seemed to know his way around the files. Tai guessed he'd been doing this job for a long time; his face may have looked young, but his black hair <em>did</em> have streaks of gray already.</p><p>"No worries. I'm just glad the records are still here. My wife will be relieved."</p><p>"Your wife?"</p><p>"She's… ah…" Tai scratched the back of his head as he tried to think up an excuse for why he was digging around a cold case like this. "She's… putting a thesis… together… and needs some old police reports for… reasons."</p><p>The thin man smiled, laughing a bit. "Sounds like a dedicated woman."</p><p>"Oh, she is. Dedicated, brilliant, beautiful… she's practically perfect."</p><p>"You know… I'm heading to lunch in a few minutes, Mr. Xiao Long. Care to join me? I'd love to know more about your wife. Maybe even meet her if you think she's up for it."</p><p>"Well, I really should get back to her…"</p><p>"You paid the fee to get up here, yes? Why not make the most of it? My treat."</p><p>Taiyang debated for a few moments before quietly apologizing to Summer. "Well I guess I can't argue with that."</p><p>The man smiled broadly, his black eyes glittering in the fluorescent light. He reached out a thin hand for Taiyang to shake. "I'm Dr. Favah Rory. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p><strong>(^</strong> <strong>ω^)</strong></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ask any female and they will tell you that Summer's logic here is perfectly rational. I think. Bending my brain that far gave me a cramp, so I can't be sure.</p><p>Anywho… Professor Jasmine Corbett is an OC that, in the simplest terms, was created to fill the role of right-hand-woman for Lionheart – every Academy other than Haven already had someone doing that (Glynda for Beacon, Winter for Atlas, and Rumpole for Shade from the YA novels). Corbett is based on the Hungry Tiger, a friend of the Cowardly Lion from Baum's Oz novels. We'll be seeing more of her later on, don't you worry. And for the record, the Indochinese Tiger is also known as "Corbett's Tiger."</p><p>As for the rest of her team, I randomly picked out a handful of names from a list of horse breeds. If you wanna take that to have implied meanings, then I certainly won't stop you. I went with Chinese-sounding names for the new city because Mistral is meant to be a mix of Asian cultures, and we've had enough Japanese-sounding names. I'm just mixing it up.</p><p>Next chapter will be the first proper fight scene. Promise.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Spirit of a Warrior</h2></a>
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  <strong>Spirit Of A Warrior</strong>
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  <em>July 1st, 4-81 — Lushu</em>
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<p>The day was waning, with no sign of Taiyang coming back.</p>
<p>Summer had already wandered around the city for a few hours, looking at various things without really seeing them before settling down to wait at a table near the base of the Ladder. A glass of water sat untouched before her, the ice well on its way to melting, as her mind drifted once again to her current situation.</p>
<p>To be honest, she still felt like she was in a dream.</p>
<p>She hadn't fully processed the fact that over a decade had passed without her noticing. Sure, things looked different…people around her had changed, gotten older without justification…but she didn't <em>feel</em> like that much time had really passed.</p>
<p>The photos back home showed a group of girls that, supposedly, included Ruby and Yang. While it was still beyond strange that they had grown up so quickly, Summer could not deny that the two young women in the photos had the right… <em>energy,</em> that was the word. Ruby may have looked different, but even in a frozen image locked behind a pane of glass, it was still her little girl smiling back at her. And Yang… she looked even more like a perfect fusion of Taiyang and Raven than before.</p>
<p>Summer tried once again to imagine meeting them, to picture their reunion… and almost burst into tears.</p>
<p>And then she started laughing. Honestly, if she was <em>this</em> much of a mess just thinking about it, there was <em>no way</em> she'd keep it together on the actual day it all went down.</p>
<p>"One thing at a time, Sum," she muttered to herself. "No sense in getting hung up over things that haven't even happened yet."</p>
<p>Thank the gods Taiyang was still there for her! At this point, he was the only thing solid she had left to hold onto, the anchor in the storm that was now her life. And considering what he'd told her on the way here, he was probably the only one of the old team she could rely on for stability; Qrow had slipped into heavier drinking than before, if that was even possible, while Raven had fully embraced her role as leader of her tribe, turning her back on everything they'd ever fought to protect back in the day. They had both completely moved on.</p>
<p>The part about them now being able to turn into <em>birds</em> was a bit hard to swallow. Still… there were enough bizarre things happening around her lately that Summer was willing to accept a lot more than normal.</p>
<p>Suddenly, a scream pulled her back to reality.</p>
<p>It sounded pretty far away, past the border of the town and deep within the trees. It also sounded young, like a child; Summer had seen plenty of kids running around the Lower City, not really seeming to care that they lived in a city without any real defense against the Grimm. Had it been one of them?</p>
<p>But why would they be that far out…?</p>
<p>The scream came again, and Summer was on her feet. Other screams joined in, other children, some clearly calling for help. Before she even knew what she was doing, Summer was rapidly dashing past the edge of Lushu and into the woods. Agni and Varuna were already in her hands.</p>
<p>Yet deep in the back of her mind, alarm bells were blaring. Something wasn't right here.</p>
<p>…<br/>…</p>
<p>The sound of the screams eventually stopped, but Summer wasn't ready to quit; even if there weren't any survivors, she would be <em>damned</em> if she didn't at least make sure. Children were far too precious to ignore even in the direst of circumstances. Whether or not they were hers made no difference, and if even one was still alive out here she would walk through hell itself to make sure the child lived.</p>
<p>The alarm bells in her head continued blaring, giving her cause to keep her guard up. If there were no survivors then she would still have to face down whatever it was that had ended them in the first place.</p>
<p>On the other hand, she had a sneaking suspicion that there hadn't been any kids in the first place…</p>
<p>Soon enough Summer came to a clearing in the woods, about a quarter-mile north of the town limits. Trees towered high all around her, along with a few boulders that were once small plateaus similar to the ones past the edge of the forest. A dried-up riverbed bisected the area, the last remnant of rainwater having long since made its way to the sea. And not a single trace of humans; no bodies, no children's toys left in the tall grass, not even footprints from little shoes that would be plainly visible in the mud of the riverbed. Nothing.</p>
<p>A perfect spot for an ambush.</p>
<p>The first one leaped at her from the right, hurling through the air from behind a tree, mouth agape and growling. The only thing it ate was the blade of Varuna, which plunged into and out the back end of it.</p>
<p>A moment later, a second and third one dove at her from the other side. These two met the lethally sharp edge of Agni, one swipe each, before falling to the grass with four distinct thuds.</p>
<p>Only now did Summer raise her Aura, her shield snapping into place with an audible noise. Power flooded her muscles, life and energy that also brought a clarity of mind as the world came into stark relief, her senses now enhanced… and she finally noticed that she was surrounded.</p>
<p>Grimm. As expected.</p>
<p>About 20 of the creatures sat all around her, staring with their soulless yellow eyes set within burning red holes in their faces. They were smaller Grimm than she was used to dealing with, but no less dangerous for it; these were called Fishers, monsters more suited to surprise attacks than straight fights. They were no bigger than a large dog, with mostly round bodies with four legs, but their unique trait was a long appendage growing over their heads that ended in a glowing bulb. They were able to use this appendage as a lure to draw unsuspecting humans deep into the woods before tearing them apart. Hence the name.</p>
<p>Two of them opened their mouths, which were lined with eerily human-like teeth, and made sounds that caused Summer's skin to crawl – they sounded exactly like the screams of little children. The screams she had heard.</p>
<p>The woman gritted her teeth and gripped the handles of her swords more tightly. She'd fallen for their trap like an amateur. Ran headlong into it, in fact.</p>
<p>But that didn't change the fact that she was about to make <em>them</em> regret it.</p>
<p>They charged, coming in waves while darting to and fro all over her field of vision. They knew how to move in ways that could confuse their prey, any normal person would have trouble with such tactics. Had she tried to follow their erratic movements Summer would've had trouble as well… so she didn't.</p>
<p>She closed her eyes… loosed her grip slightly, flipping the weapons backhand… and let Agni and Varuna <em>dance.</em></p>
<p>Agni was slightly shorter than Varuna by about 4 inches, but otherwise, the two blades were nearly identical in appearance; the handles were wrapped in black leather, the mechanism of the hilt and metal pieces supporting the blades were a mix of gunmetal gray and dark red, similar to her hair color, while the blades shone a brilliant silver. Hidden within that mechanism were a few surprises, but a fight such as this would not require them.</p>
<p>The blades flew seemingly of their own accord. She let them fight, for that was what they desired; who was she to deny them?</p>
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  <em>May 9th, 4-53 — Mistral Highlands</em>
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<p>"This is impossible!"</p>
<p>The wooden objects clattered to the ground in a huff as Summer stormed off to her tent, nursing a recent bruise on her leg. A bruise she had given herself yesterday before hitting it <em>again</em> just a moment ago, almost bringing her to tears. How in the nine hells was she supposed to figure out something like this?!</p>
<p>Maria Calavera sat calmly on a nearby rock. She'd seen the whole thing, or at least Summer guessed she saw it; wearing that skull mask all the time made it hard to be sure <em>what</em> the woman was actually looking at. Could've been asleep for all she knew.</p>
<p>Summer had no idea where the sun was today, as their camp was deeply shrouded in the mists. The region was well known for the constant fog, which was likely the reason Maria chose to stay here. It was daytime, and hot… that's all she knew for sure. The girl, almost a teenager, took a swig of water before walking back.</p>
<p>"Finished already?" Maria suddenly said, causing Summer to jump slightly. So she <em>was</em> awake. (Must have been meditating or something.)</p>
<p>"Have I even <em>started?"</em> Summer shot back, "After all this time, you haven't actually <em>trained</em> me at all! The only things I've done is make cheap wooden copies of weapons to hit myself with! I'm training with <em>junk!"</em></p>
<p>"I think you've misunderstood something, child… I never said I would teach you any specific fighting style. I am not a Master…"</p>
<p>"<em>You're a master at being irritating!"</em></p>
<p>The woman calmly removed her mask and stood up, and walked over to the discarded sticks, picking them up. This set was meant to be a pair of s-curved short swords, similar to an ancient variety of Vacuo weaponry. After a moment of study, she gave one an experimental swing… and it seemed to move with liquid grace, swinging in a fine arc over her head and around her middle.</p>
<p>One singular motion and Summer's jaw dropped.</p>
<p>"I see nothing wrong with this one," Maria said. "Perhaps it is not the <em>weapon</em> that is at fault, hmm…?~"</p>
<p>Summer crossed her arms and pouted off to one side.</p>
<p>Maria walked over and knelt down, no longer as far a trip as it used to be, and looked Summer full in the eyes again. Summer was always struck with how similar their silver eyes were – the only other person she'd ever seen with those eyes was her mother… before the Grimm attack those few years ago.</p>
<p>"When you go to scratch your nose… does your hand decide, on its own, to pick for boogers instead?" Summer giggled before she caught herself, then shook her head no. Maria continued, "If you chose to walk forward, would you expect your legs to randomly carry you off to one side with telling them to?"</p>
<p>Summer shook her head no again, brow furrowed.</p>
<p>"Why not?"</p>
<p>"Because they're a part of my body. My hands and my legs don't have minds of their own-"</p>
<p>"And so it is with a warrior and her weapons."</p>
<p>Maria handed the sticks back to Summer, who took them in stunned silence. Something about what Maria was saying… made a bizarre, yet undeniable, sort of sense.</p>
<p>"Instead of trying to <em>master</em> your weapon… instead of making them do what <em>you</em> want them to do, why not try working <em>with</em> them instead? As extensions of your body, they are as much a part of you as your hands and your feet. However… <em>they do have minds of their own,</em> in a manner of speaking."</p>
<p>Summer quickly held the sticks away from her body, no longer sure that they wouldn't bite her.</p>
<p>"I speak hypothetically, idiot; a piece of wood will not move under its own power!"</p>
<p>The younger girl straightened up, her cheeks flush with embarrassment.</p>
<p>Maria sighed, then stood up and continued. "It is a part of our warrior heritage, the blood that runs in our veins. I've met two other warriors of our ilk in my lifetime, and both were capable of this; now it is time to see if you are truly one of us."</p>
<p>Summer grabbed her two sticks back in fighting position as Maria took up one of her discarded copies, this one a simple staff, and prepared herself. For about half a second.</p>
<p>An instant later, Summer was sent flying by a blow to the head she had no hope of seeing.</p>
<p>"Dead," Maria stated.</p>
<p>The almost-teenager scrambled to her feet, head throbbing, as she tried to bring her sticks up to guard… but the woman was suddenly behind her, swinging in a downward arc that was aimed at cracking her skull.</p>
<p>Summer's sticks almost seemed to move by themselves, darting up half a moment before she knew the blow was coming and blocking it. The sound of wood striking wood echoed across the clearing for the first time since they arrived.</p>
<p>What…? How…?</p>
<p>Her awe was short-lived however – Maria quickly recovered and jabbed with her staff, pushing against the girl's back and giving her butt a whack for good measure. Summer <em>yelped</em> in pain as she landed, now more indignant than angry. She glared at Maria as she rubbed the sore spot.</p>
<p>The older woman was smiling, an expression Summer would rarely ever see during their time together. "So you <em>are</em> capable. Excellent. Let's continue."</p>
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  <em>July 1st, 4-81 — Lushu</em>
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<p>It was always fascinating to watch her swords dancing from a relative distance. Maria never could explain <em>why</em> it worked like this, but they both knew it to be true. Professor Goodwitch guessed it was something like a Semblance back when she still attended Beacon, and it may be… but it didn't really matter then, and it certainly didn't matter now. What mattered now was ending the fight.</p>
<p>Three Fishers attacked from three directions; Summer spun in a full circle, letting Agni bite into all three in a fine arc. Two more came at her from the front, one leaping over the other to try and avoid her first strike; Varuna took that one in the face as Summer easily dodged around the flayed bodies.</p>
<p>The Fishers, which turned out to be closer to 30 in number, were rapidly whittled down to about 5. The remainder held back, clearly smarter than their fallen brethren. Either that… or the one leading them had had enough.</p>
<p>Less than a minute later, she had her answer. The ground beneath her swelled a moment before a massive creature burst through, tearing through dirt and rock with the ease of a large fish jumping out of the water. Summer barely dodged in time.</p>
<p>The creature before her resembled a gigantic worm, its head about three feet wide and all mouth – like its smaller cousins, this mouth was lined with square, human-like teeth. No eyes were visible near this mouth, and around the outside of it flailed a dozen or so appendages, each one about a foot long and glowing with a different colored light at the end.</p>
<p><em>(Want… some… candy…?)</em> the worm said in a perfect, child-like voice.</p>
<p>Summer bit back a wave of revulsion, then spun Varuna back around fronthand. A gang of Fishers was bad enough – a Fisher King would require a lot more focus.</p>
<p>Or at least, it <em>would</em> have… if they hadn't been interrupted at that exact moment.</p>
<p>A half dozen bursts of light suddenly shot through the clearing from behind the Fisher King, half of them hitting nothing but air while the other half hit and <em>obliterated the other Fishers. </em>Behind her, the sounds of trees exploding echoed forth.</p>
<p>What the…?</p>
<p>The Fisher King had seen enough, making a pitiful whine as it dove back underground and burrowed away. Summer watched it go, mentally guessing it was probably a good 50-60 feet in length. And it had gotten away. Not good.</p>
<p>On the other hand, whatever had <em>scared</em> it away was still here. Also not good.</p>
<p>At the other end of the clearing stood a figure of ghostly white with a slightly greenish hue. He (at a guess) was too far away to make out any distinguishing features, but she could clearly see a dozen or so balls of light floating around his head.</p>
<p>As she watched, one of those balls moved in front of him and shot out, splitting into nearly a dozen smaller balls as they all rocketed towards Summer.</p>
<p>Not at the remaining Grimm… at <em>Summer.</em></p>
<p>Well, now it was obvious who his real target was.</p>
<p>Flipping Varuna back around, Summer flared her Aura and leaped over the volley. She cleared the highest shot by mere inches before landing again. The blasts ripped through the trees behind her for several hundred yards, which would have been awe-inspiring had it not been for the fact that the one who <em>fired</em> those shots was still gunning for her. So she turned and ran.</p>
<p>A Grimm was one thing… someone or something who could level an entire forest without much effort was something else. She needed time to plan, or at least observe her opponent and see what she was up against.</p>
<p>Another volley came before she was ready, but with more distance between them the shots had more space to spread out. Summer was already back in the trees when she turned, focused, and weaved between two shots, then another two, all as the trees around her exploded into leaves and splinters.</p>
<p>Agni almost moved to hit one of the shots back, but she resisted. Powerful shots like this would most likely shatter the blade, and that was a loss the woman was not prepared to deal with.</p>
<p>As the dust settled, Summer spotted her opponent heading her way and finally got a moment to look at him. The figure – she would hesitate to call him 'human' – looked and moved like a ghost; his entire body glowed with that slightly green light, a monotone that washed out any other color. That and he was floating about a foot off the ground. His face seemed to shift from moment to moment, making it impossible to recognize any distinguishing features. Whoever this guy was, he clearly had no intention of waiting around; almost as soon as Summer finished her initial examination, another ball of light had moved into place and shot forward.</p>
<p>Summer moved as fast as her Aura-enhanced muscles would allow, darting forward and leaping at the precise moment the shot expanded and fired. She avoided them all, deftly landed in front of the bewildered man and swung…</p>
<p>Varuna bit into nothing but fog. The figure smiled broadly.</p>
<p>… … …Was he <em>really</em> a ghost after all?</p>
<p>The figure's lips were moving silently as he lifted his hands. The remaining balls of light (which, Summer noted in passing, were not replenishing themselves after each shot) suddenly darted forward and struck her, knocking her back like giant, angry hornets defending their nest. She didn't explode on contact, but they still hurt.</p>
<p>Agni and Varuna danced again, moving to defend Summer in a similar way, knocking away orb after orb but doing no damage. Instead, she noticed that the figure was moving backward, still smiling. He was trying to put some distance between them, keeping the last two orbs next to him as the rest of the bunch kept Summer busy. A distraction.</p>
<p>So… it seemed he couldn't use his blast attack at close range. That was a thing.</p>
<p>Summer pressed forward, urging Agni and Varuna to strike faster, harder. The orbs responded by moving even faster and darting around her attacks like they were moving in slow motion, gradually pushing her back against her will and adding even more distance. She gritted her teeth with each blow, wondering if she'd even be able to dodge the next shot.</p>
<p>Sure enough, the figure stopped about 20 feet away and moved another orb into position. He smiled as it shot forward, ready to spread into a rain of destruction-</p>
<p>-Before simply blowing apart, embers falling harmlessly.</p>
<p>The distant echo of a gunshot followed a moment later.</p>
<p>The ghostly figure gave a violent start, losing his focus. Summer found an opening as the orbs suddenly froze in place. She ducked around them, ran forward and hit one of the hidden switches on Agni's handle. The blade began to transform, but she was cut off as they were interrupted once again.</p>
<p>
  <em>Okay, seriously? Can't a girl finish a fight around here?</em>
</p>
<p>She would have said what she was thinking, but the interruption in question made that impossible – a blast of sound and power erupted from her left somewhere, blowing forth with the force of an explosion and hitting the ghost full-on. Amazingly, the spirit decided this was enough to make it dissipate as it vanished like fog in a gust of wind.</p>
<p>Summer retracted Agni's mechanism and smiled; she knew what had caused <em>that</em> particular blast.</p>
<p>Freaking took him long enough.</p>
<p>With a spring in her step, Summer followed the trail of flattened grass back to its source. Taiyang Xiao Long stood there like a hero from a storybook, Wu Xing gleaming on his wrist, the symbol of a white circle still glowing slightly. Fei; the element of Metal. The ultimate trump card for winning an argument.</p>
<p>As she approached, Tai said, "Heh… nobody told me these woods were haunted. You alright?"</p>
<p>Rather than respond, Summer embraced her husband and finally let her Aura disperse before she crushed him. He waited a moment, then hugged her back in a move that felt… awkward.</p>
<p>Summer looked up again and said, with a playful growl, "What took you so long, you big oaf?"</p>
<p>He raised both hands in defense, "Hey, I can't be everywhere at once! Jasmine heard a commotion and insisted we both come out and take a look."</p>
<p>As though her name summoned her, Jasmine Corbett strode into their small clearing. Her large rifle swung easily from her back. "Are you hurt, Summer Rose?"</p>
<p>"Just worn out," she replied. She'd used up a lot of Aura and needed a rest.</p>
<p>Then Taiyang scratched the back of his head, looked at her… and said something that made Summer's heart drop into her shoes.</p>
<p>"So, uh… you two've clearly met. My name's Taiyang. And you are…?"</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>
  <strong>(^</strong>
  <strong>ω^)</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Those who know, know; depression doesn't just go away on its own, does it? You can have weeks on end with no trouble, but out of nowhere it knocks you back down and just… *sigh.*</p>
<p>On a lighter note, I should probably point out now that my interpretation of the Silver Eyes will likely be very, very different from canon (which is kinda the point of fanfiction, innit?) Bear that in mind as the story progresses.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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